Chromatic Devil
by ZuttoAragi
Summary: He did not want to lose her. He had to save her. And because of that he and two others are stuck in a new dimension. But...is it truly new?
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter I**

 **Hello to all! Yes, it is yet another new story. This one is Chromatic Devil. As you may have surmised already the story is primarily a crossover between Tales of Xillia and High School DxD. I say primarily because, as usual for my stories, those are not the only series involved in this story. Campione, Maken-Ki, and Fate/Stay-Night are also involved with the story. So yes, as per normal in my stories, this will be a rather large harem of characters and a rather lengthy story. I have Bakuto Masaki along for the ride as my secondary author, as usual. The main character of this story is actually going to be Ludger Will Kresnik instead of Issei, Jude, or an OC like I usually do. Well, there really is not much else to say here so might as well move on to the main course. Please be sure to leave a review and tell me what you think of the story as well.**

* * *

In a large, brown-grey room made of old metal, several people lied on the ground around a large, glowing portal, two people hung on the wall to complex, magic circles, a man in a red suit stood above the portal with a sadistic smirk.

In the portal, a woman hung desperately on the edge of the portal. "You have to let me go!" the woman shouted desperately.

The man holding onto her gripped her hand tightly and rebutted, "I can't! Elle needs you!"

However, the air current from the portal strengthened, and Ludger felt his grip loosen until the woman slipped from his grip.

"No!" he shouted as she fell into the darkness.

* * *

In another location, a young man with short, messy grey-white hair that had the bangs dyed black and green eyes wearing a black shirt and grey shorts suddenly sat up in his bed, sweating and breathing heavily. He put a hand over his face as he sat with wide eyes.

Next to him, a young woman with long, knee-length, wavy blonde hair with varying shades, with long bangs that swept off to the side and red eyes wearing a thin t-shirt and white panties sat up groggily after he shot awake. "Mmm…Ludger…?" she asked sleepily as she sat up, her hair somewhat messy.

However, rather than respond the young man simply leant over swiftly wrapped his arms around her.

"L-Ludger…?" she asked puzzled as she felt him trembling lightly. After a moment she smiled lightly and then wrapped her arms around him as well.

After a moments he seemed to calm and she asked, "Have you calmed down?"

He nodded.

"Good…could you get your head out of my cleavage?"

He then immediately sat up straight, though that only exposed his face for her to punch.

As Ludger lie slumped on the ground, blood falling lightly from his nose, the woman put on a pair of black pants, zipping them up partially but leaving them unbuttoned, before opening the door from the room at the end of a hallway, past a single door and turned right to a set of stairs leading down.

She yawned lightly as she walked down the stairs before the shook followed by a loud explosion.

She immediately ran down the stairs, turned to the left into the kitchen area which had a single wall of hanging racks with a hallway at the left corner, a fridge near the edge of the hallway on the left wall, a section of counter space next to it with a microwave, toaster, and spice rack, an electric stove and oven, and a dishwasher, with cabinets along the wall above it all, a sink to the right around the corner of the counter, another long section of countertop with storage underneath and cabinets above, with an open dining area on the other side with a large white table with eight chairs around it. However, her attention was focused intently on the stove.

A young woman with long, knee-length, wavy blonde hair with varying shades, with long bangs that swept off to the side and a long cowlick with a blue-green tip and purple eyes wearing a knee-length beige dress with a brown belt around her waist stood in front of the stove, which was now puffing smoke around her. She coughed lightly and then turned to the other woman. "It blew up," she said plainly.

The first woman sighed heavily. "Oh for the love of…Maxwell, you idiot. I thought we established you can't cook?"

The second woman, Maxwell, replied, "I thought it would be simple to make breakfast for everyone. After all, this French toast sounds very deilici-I mean easy to make."

The first woman replied annoyed, "Then why the hell are you standing at the stove?! You're supposed to use the toaster for that!"

Ludger, having cleaned the blood from his nose, then interjected, "Uh, Milla, French Toast _does_ require a stove to cook. Regular toast is what needs just a toaster. I thought you'd know that given how much you love cooking."

Milla then paled slightly in response. "I…uh…I'm still sleepy…"

"Oh, I see. Sorry for waking you earlier."

Milla sighed in relief. ' _I'm glad he actually bought that._ ' She then turned to him and asked, "What was that about anyway?"

Ludger sighed dolefully. "It was…a dream about the day I almost lost you. The day we all got stuck here."

Milla frowned lightly. "Yeah…it's been almost three months since then, hasn't it…?"

"I'm hungry," a cute young girl with long, hip-length black hair, grey eyes, and pointed ears wearing a knee-length blue dress and white shoes said in an emotionless tone.

Milla twitched an eyebrow in mild annoyance at the girl.

Ludger chuckled lightly. "Yeah…sorry Ophis, that might take a while. Maxwell blew up the stove. Lest you want something microwavable."

The girl, Ophis, puffed her cheeks in frustration. "Just make a new one."

Ludger sighed and put a hand on the girl's head lightly. "It isn't that easy, Ophis. You can't just snap your fingers and instantly make a new stove."

Ophis grumbled in annoyance and then snapped her fingers, causing what appeared to be a stove to appear out of nowhere.

Ludger blinked curiously and then sighed as he walked over to the supposed stove. He fiddled with a controls for a moment and then laughed lightly. "Sorry, told you, Ophis. How 'bout we stop by Macaron on my way to Kuoh and make you something there real quickly?"

Ophis nodded with a small smile.

"Good. Then we will leave Milla and Maxwell here to get a new working stove while you're out to eat."

Ophis nodded in agreement before the two were interrupted by the mewing a small black cat.

Ludger knelt down and picked the cat up in his arms. "Yes, Lulu, we'll get something for you too."

Ophis then knelt down lightly and Ludger nodded before resting the cat on the girl's head.

"Hold on a minute!" Milla interjected. "Maxwell blew up the stove, not me!"

Ludger then turned to her. "So? Maxwell doesn't know the first thing about stoves. So you're going to help her get a new one. Besides, think of this as payback for decking me this morning."

Milla then froze and slumped her shoulders. "You're evil…"

Ludger rebutted with a smile, "No, I'm a Kresnik. There's a difference."

* * *

Eventually, Ludger, now wearing a black blazer with white accents, over a white, long-sleeve dress shirt, a black bowtie, matching black pants, and brown dress shoes walked next to Ophis, now wearing a black vest with white trim over a white, button-down shirt with long sleeves and vertical black lines, a black bowtie around her collar, a short, pleated, maroon skirt with white trim, long white stockings, and black shoes, who was eating a baked, jam-filled pastry.

"So, is that good?" Ludger asked.

Ophis looked up at him and nodded before swiftly returning to her meal, Lulu still sitting atop her head silently.

Ludger nodded with a smile. "I'm glad Ryoko is so easy-going about that."

* * *

After a short while, Ludger and Ophis arrived at a large, western style building with many different floors and a large collection of students gathering out front. A seven foot tall wall surrounded the school, with a plaque on the front that read "Kuoh Academy."

Ophis finished licking her fingers and then glanced up at Ludger and waved before running off into the school.

Ludger chuckled in amusement.

"Yo, Ludger," a voice called out.

Ludger turned to the side and saw a young man with short, dirty blonde hair and grey eyes wearing the Kuoh male uniform walking up to him. "Oh, hey Saji. You're earlier than usual."

Saji smirked proudly and replied, "Well, a member of the student council should set a good example."

Ludger blinked curiously.

"Me you idiot!"

Ludger chuckled lightly. "Oh, right. Sorry, I had a rather…odd morning."

Saji raised an eyebrow and then shrugged in response. "Whatever." He then pointed behind Ludger and said with a smirk, "Don't look now, but trouble's coming."

"That's mean Genshirou-Senpai," an attractive young woman with elbow-length violet hair with one bang hanging down longer than the rest on the right side, a red ribbon tied in the left side of her hair, fair skin, and pupil-less, violet eyes, with a slightly above average bust-line wearing the female Kuoh uniform, albeit with the vest opened more at the chest to expose the white shirt, said in annoyance.

"Mornin' Sakura," Ludger greeted happily.

Sakura bowed in response. "Good morning Senpai. You weren't at your apartment when I got there."

Ludger scratched the back of his head in response. "Yeah, sorry about that. I had a problem in the kitchen and had to leave early."

"Oh, I see."

Saji then interjected in mild frustration, "Man, you're so lucky. I wish I could have a cute girl coming to my house every morning."

Sakura and Ludger then both turned bright red. "I-it's not like that Saji! How many times do I have to tell you that?!" Ludger argued.

Saji merely chuckled in amusement before walking inside.

Ludger sighed in frustration before turning to Sakura. "We should probably get going."

Sakura nodded in agreement.

* * *

As Ludger hung his bag on the side of his desk and sat down, he was approached by a girl with elbow-length brown hair that hung down over her face in a multitude of bangs, multiple strands of hair poking out behind her head, and some of it braided in two ponytails that hung on the front of her body, amber eyes, and wearing the female Kuoh uniform with the vest covering her moderate bust, and large, pink-rimmed glasses. "Well you're early as usual, Ludger," she remarked as she sat down next to him.

"Well I try not to be late, Aika. Things usually go bad when I am," he rebutted.

"Right, right."

Saji then interjected, "Well it's easy to be on time when you have a cute junior coming to your house to get you going."

Ludger twitched an eyebrow as he whapped Saji on the head. "That's none of your business."

Aika snickered as she adjusted her glasses. "Oh I'm sure she really _gets you going_ every morning, right?"

Ludger's face then began to turn red before he argued, "N-no! It's nothing like that!"

The three's attention was then diverted outside as a commotion stirred outside as three people were getting chased by some of the students.

"What's that all about?" Ludger asked.

"You're kidding? You haven't heard about them yet?" Aika asked.

"I don't really talk to anyone besides you two. So I don't know much about what's going on," Ludger responded in confusion.

Aika raised an eyebrow and then snickered lightly. "Well many of the students certainly talk about you."

"It's all good I hope."

Aika then adjusted her glasses, causing the glare to hide her eyes in an ominous manner. "That depends on your viewpoint I suppose."

Ludger gulped in concern. "I don't think I want to know what they're saying."

"Wise choice."

After a moment the door opened and a young woman with short, light brown hair and matching eyes wearing a green dress with a yellow and black striped t-shirt underneath and plain white shoes entered the room, though it was more along the lines of her sliding in after rushing into the room frantically.

Aika sighed in amusement. "Well, looks like Ms. Fujimura's just barely on time as always."

"Yeah, you gotta wonder why she's always late," Saji remarked.

Ludger shrugged. "In my experience, asking those kinds of questions only leads to bad things."

Aika snickered. "Ohh, someone with experience with women, eh?"

Ludger looked at her flatly. "You know, you tease me about that every time I mention something about women."

"Only because your flustered expression is always so amusing."

"Alright people, listen up!" the teacher, Fujimura, suddenly shouted. "It's time for class to start!"

Ludger scratched his ear lightly. "Yeesh, she shouts louder than Nova."

* * *

After several classes passed by, Ludger made his way down towards the cafeteria for lunch, Saji and Aika beside him.

However, partway down the hallway, Saji suddenly stopped and waved to the two. "Sorry, I've gotta go deal with some student council stuff."

Aika and Ludger nodded before the teen ran off. The two then continued their path for lunch.

* * *

After grabbing their lunch, Ludger asked, "So where should we eat this?"

Aika put a finger to her chin in thought. "Hmm…how 'bout the music room?"

Ludger folded his arms for a moment and then nodded. "That sounds good."

* * *

As the two approached the music room on the far edge of the school, an area most students did not go to, Ludger looked around before nodding as the two ducked inside, Ludger locking the door behind them.

* * *

Ophis sat on the roof of the school quietly eating a meat bun when she reached over to a juice carton next to her. She tried to take a sip but could not get any to come out. She shook it a moment and squeezed the box, only for some to squirt out on her. She twitched an eyebrow and then continued drinking.

* * *

After a while, Ludger and Aika exited the music room, Aika's hair and clothes mildly disheveled when they did.

Aika licked her lips and remarked, "That was a good meal."

Ludger nodded as he closed the door. "We should probably get back to class."

Aika nodded in agreement.

* * *

As the two made their back to class, Ludger stopped and looked up to the side towards the old school building.

He saw a young woman in her late teens with a buxom figure, light skin, long, crimson-red, waist-length hair with a single strand sticking up off her head, loose bangs covering her forehead and framing her face, blue-green eyes and wearing the female Kuoh uniform with a small cape added on that fastened in the front just above her ample bosom.

As he looked at her, he narrowed his eyes in thought. ' _Where have I…seen her before…?_ '

"Ludger!" Aika shouted to get his attention.

"Er, wh-what…?" he asked.

"Geez, you've really gotta stop spacing out like that. So, what were you looking at?"

He glanced back up at the window and then asked, "Are there any students at the school with red hair?"

Aika blinked curiously and then nodded with a smirk. "Ahh. That'd be Rias Gremory, one of the Two Great Ladies of the school and supposedly an overseas student." Aika then adjusted her glasses with a mischievous smirk. "If you want, I could give you her measurements…"

Ludger blinked curiously. "Her…measurements…?" His eyes then widened as his face turned red. "No way!"

Aika pouted. "You're no fun."

* * *

As the two made their way back to class, Ludger saw a teenage girl with light skin and long, wavy black hair tied in twintails with black ribbons along with some hanging loose, and dark blue eyes wearing the female Kuoh uniform walk past him into a nearby classroom.

"Something wrong?" Aika asked.

"Who was that girl?" Ludger asked.

Aika raised an eyebrow in thought. "Are you only now starting to notice the other people in our school?"

Ludger looked at her flatly.

Aika sighed in response. "Her name is Rin Tohsaka. She's one of the other most popular girls in school. Right under the Two Great Ladies. You know, there's a rather interesting rumor going around about her."

Ludger raised an eyebrow.

"Apparently she used to be in the student council, but either left or was kicked out when the current president, Sona Shitori, took over."

"Is that so?" he asked curiously.

"Well, we should probably get back to class."

Ludger nodded in agreement.

* * *

As the school day wound to a close, Ludger made his way towards the gates when he heard a voice he was not excited about hearing.

"Hey there, Ludger," a teen with short, curly blue hair that parted over his forehead and grey-blue eyes wearing the male Kuoh uniform said with a smirk as he approached Ludger, surrounded by several female students.

"Shinji," Ludger remarked in mild irritation.

"I was hoping to find you," Shinji remarked.

Ludger sighed in response. "What do you want Shinji?"

Shinji put up a hand defensively, though he kept his confident smirk. "Now, now. No need to get rude. I, or rather, the girls were hoping you could do them a favor."

Ludger narrowed his eyes in response. "Do I even want to know?"

"Well you see, tonight is my turn to clean the archery club room, me being the vice-captain and all, but if I do that, I won't be able to entertain these lovely ladies."

Ludger sighed in response. "Whatever."

Shinji smiled happily. "You're such a good friend." He then walked off with the girls surrounding him.

Ludger scratched his head in annoyance. "Great, now Ryoko's going to be pissed that I'm late."

* * *

On the roof of the school, Rin Tohsaka stood, now wearing a red blouse and black skirt in favor of the school uniform. She asked to no one in particular, "Is there anyone else here?"

A voice answered from nowhere, "No. There's just you, me, and our little buddy, nya."

Rin smirked in response. "Then we should greet him."

* * *

Ludger looked around inside the archery dojo and sighed. "Well, might as well get started. The quicker I do this the quicker I can get to work." He then grabbed a rag nearby and began cleaning the room.

* * *

Outside, in Kuoh's main courtyard, Rin walked through the area and looked around, before saying sternly, "I know you're here, show yourself."

After a moment, a figure appeared in a shimmer of lights.

Rin narrowed her eyes as she saw a tall, slender woman with shoulder-length blonde hair that flared out at the ends, long braids extending from her bangs down to just above her chest, framing her face, fair skin, and dark blue eyes wearing blue and grey armor that consisted of a small headpiece just above her forehead, a broad, dark blue breastplate with a white symbol on the front, and grey armor on her arms and legs as well as a long blue cape and a long, rounded lance in her hand. The woman looked at Rin curiously. "You sensed me swiftly," she said plainly.

Rin frowned and remarked, "With that weaponry, I assume you are Lancer, correct?"

The woman held the lance in her hand up towards Rin silently.

Rin twitched an eyebrow. "Are you mocking me…?"

"Should I be?"

Rin grumbled and swept a hand in front of her. "Hmph, it makes no difference. Go, Archer!"

In another flurry of lights, a girl who appeared to be in her late teens with long, unkempt, dark blonde hair that faded to white at the ends, verdant green bangs that hung down over her forehead, with part framing her face, a long cowlick on top, tall, furry cat ear, fair skin, a cat tail the same color as her hair, and dark green, slitted, cat-like eyes who wore a short black dress with a pleated skirt and multiple green and gold markings on the front, detached, puffed, teal sleeves that covered only her shoulders with black ribbons tying them tight, a short waist-cape that was also teal with black markings on the bottom, short black gloves with black and gold cuffs, and long, thigh-high black boots with green markings on the front that were attached to the inside of her skirt appeared and held a bow in her hands. She looked at Lancer curiously. "So my opponent is Lancer, nya?"

Lancer kept her composure and looked at her opponent silently. "So, I shall fight Archer?"

Archer smirked and raised her bow and pulled back on the bow slightly, causing an arrow to fire forward with great power.

Lancer swept her spear in front of her, deflecting the arrow but still getting knocked back several feet by the burst when it exploded. She narrowed her eyes and then rushed forward toward Archer.

* * *

Ludger sighed to himself as he stood up and looked around the area. "I guess that finishes this up." He picked up his blazer and headed out of the archery dojo.

* * *

As he left the area he flinched when he heard several small explosions. He looked around in surprise and saw Archer and Lancer fighting nearby.

Several arrows of mana formed between Archer's fingers as she pulled back the bow, shooting three arrows at Lancer.

Lancer dodged the first two and swung her blade at the third, all three exploding around her.

Lancer then charged at Archer, thrusting her spear at Archer. However, Archer used her bow to redirect Lancer's lunge.

Ludger widened his eyes in shock. "What the hell is going on here…?"

Archer jumped back and then fired another shot at Lancer.

Lancer moved to the side swiftly, causing the arrow to soar past her.

"Gwah!" Ludger exclaimed as he jumped to the side, the arrow exploding next to him.

Lancer and Archer stopped momentarily when they heard the shout.

Ludger widened his eyes as the two looked at him.

Lancer narrowed her eyes and then disappeared in a flurry of lights.

"Hey! Are you running away, nya?!" Archer shouted angrily.

Ludger growled as he stood up and sprinted away from the area, trying to get away from the two warriors.

However, Lancer suddenly appeared in his path.

Ludger responded by ducking down, sliding along the ground, knocking Lancer off her feet as he slid under her, before jumping up and running straight ahead. Towards the school.

Lancer narrowed her eyes as she stood up.

* * *

Ludger looked around as he ran into the school. "Great, now what?" He swiftly turned around as he heard footsteps behind him. Sure enough, Lancer was right behind him. "You're not going to give up, are you?" he asked.

"Not until you are neutralized," Lancer answered as she raised her spear.

Ludger sighed as he raised his hands, before two, short, curved, dual-edged swords appeared in his grip in a flash of light, held in a reverse grip, the blades pointing backwards. "If you're not going to let me go then I've got no choice but to fight."

Lancer raised an eyebrow. "A foolish gamble. A human can't defeat a Servant."

Ludger smirked in response. "Well, I fought a god once and came out alright."

Lancer raised both eyebrows in thought and then rushed forward.

Ludger ducked to the side as she charged and swung up at her side.

Lancer bunted the back of her spear down, blocking and redirecting his swing and catching his arm in hers.

Ludger hissed but then twisted his arm and performed a backflip, knocking Lancer off balance as he flipped through the air, slamming a foot into her abdomen to jump away.

Lancer slammed into the ground hard, cracking the tile, as Ludger slid to a stop several feet away. He swung his right blade forward and shouted, "Demon Fang!" causing a blast of blue energy to rush towards Lancer.

Lancer disappeared in a flurry of lights, the blast passing through where she used to be. She reappeared nearby and thrust her spear at Ludger.

Ludger hopped forward, stabbed one of his blades into the floor, pinning Lancer's weapon, flipping the other blade so that it faced forward before lunging forward.

Lancer swung her arm out, hitting the broadside of Ludger's blade, knocking it off course, before punching him in the abdomen, causing him to get slammed against the wall with great force. She then wrenched her spear from the ground, tossing Ludger's blade aside.

Ludger stood up, coughing heavily, holding a hand over his abdomen. "Damn…she punches harder than Jude." He then extended his hands forward, causing a long, large hammer to appear in his grip. Lancer then charged towards Ludger but he raised the hammer in the air and swung it down with force, shouting, "Crushing Blow!" As the hammer impacted, a shock wave of energy rocketed outward, sending Lancer slamming back against the wall and forming cracks through the hallway and shattering many of the windows.

Lancer pulled herself from the wall and spat out a small amount of blood. "You are far more resilient than I expected."

Ludger smirked as he raised his hammer. "Thanks for the compliment."

Lancer then dashed forward at intense speeds.

"Crap!" Ludger shouted as he rolled to the side, narrowly avoiding Lancer's charge. His hammer disappeared before he picked up his blades as she charged at him again. He swiftly switched back his hammer and planted it on the ground. "Sanctuary!" A barrier appeared around him, causing Lancer's spear to bounce off. He then dropped the shield and switched to his blades instantly. Lancer charged at him but he suddenly dashed behind her. "Lunar Reflection!" he shouted as he charged from behind.

Lancer widened her eyes as he approached. She vanished right as he reached her.

He hissed before jumping into the air, dodging her lunge. He then swung his swords down, rocketing down as mana surged in the blades. "Falling Thunder!" A burst of electricity shot outwards, sending Lancer sliding back several feet.

She winced momentarily as the electricity died down. She then stood up and brushed a small amount of dirt from her shoulder.

Ludger snarled. ' _Dammit. After all those artes she's still not even scratched. Guess I've got no choice._ ' Ludger's blade vanished as he reached into the pouch on his leg.

Lancer narrowed her eyes and began to charge.

Ludger pulled out a pocket watch and raised it in front of him. Suddenly his body was bathed in light.

Lancer stopped her charge and covered her eyes. When she reopened them she frowned in confusion.

Ludger's shirt had vanished and instead, his hands, arms, and torso were covered in black and grey armor with yellow light coursing through it and his hair had turned completely white. His swords were now replaced with a long, double-ended, black and grey spear with yellow light coursing through it. He then raised the spear towards Lancer before bursting forward.

' _His speed has increased immensely!_ ' Lancer exclaimed in her mind right as he appeared in front of her, ready to lunge. Lancer barely managed to dodge to the side as he rushed at her.

Ludger slid to a stop and spun, seeing the gash in Lancer's side. He raised his spear once more and prepared to charge. He charged and then swung several times before slamming his spear into the ground. "Hexentia!" he shouted as several circles appeared on the ground.

"What the-?!" Lancer shouted before massive pillars of black energy shot up. She was sent flying away, sliding across the ground, from the blast.

Ludger lowered his spear and then prepared to charge once more as Lancer stood up. However, as he charged, sparks shot from his leg. His eyes widened as he tumbled to the ground. "No, not now!" he shouted as his leg went limp.

Lancer took the moment and immediately launched her spear at Ludger.

Ludger hissed and swung his spear to the side, knocking Lancer's out the window. He then reared back his spear and sent it flying forward. "Azure Edge!" he shouted as the spear was bathed in light.

Lancer barely had enough time to notice the spear flying at her before it impaled her abdomen and kept going, pinning her against the wall at the end of the hallway.

Ludger stepped back a moment and took a breath. "Damn…got to get out of here before she gets up." He turned and jumped out the nearby window. He winced as his leg bent in an uncomfortable direction as he did so. He reached down, grabbed his leg with both hands, and then wrenched it back in the opposite direction. "Gah! Damn, that hurts!" he cursed before taking off away from the school.

Lancer moaned as she watched Ludger run away.

* * *

As Ludger made his way back to his apartment his transformation deactivated before he decided to cut through another area of town to get home quicker.

As he did, he passed in front of a large, classical Japanese style home. As he made his way around the front of the home, he saw a person walking around before collapsing on the ground. "Oh crap!" he snarled as he ran to the person's side.

He approached the person and saw that it was a woman wearing black and purple robes that covered most of her body, including a hood over her head, though small portions of lilac hair were visible.

"Hey! Are you alright?!" he asked the woman frantically.

The woman turned to him weakly and looked him curiously for a moment before she seemed to go unconscious.

"Arggh, you gotta be kiddin' me!" he shouted angrily. He looked around in frustration before sighing. "Guess there's not really any other option."

* * *

As Ludger entered his apartment he made his way to the left of the steps into the living room, which had the doorway in the back left corner, a large white couch in the center of the left-side wall nestled between two small tables with lamps on them, two large mirrors on the wall opposite the doorway, perpendicular to the couch, with tall beige and white curtains hanging from them, an entertainment center with a large television and several video game consoles on the wall opposite the couch, a small cabinet next to the entertainment center with collections of movies and video games stored inside, and a long black table with several ornaments seated on it.

Ludger made his way to the couch and set the woman down on the couch, resting her head on a cushion. He winced as he felt his leg spasm lightly. "Damn. I'm going to have to head to JP's to get this checked out."

He sighed before he made his way up the stairs and into his room before he collapsed on his bed. "Ugh…everything hurts after using my Chromatus."

Ludger swiftly fell asleep from exhaustion.

* * *

However, his sleep was very loudly interrupted by a familiar voice shouting very angrily, "LUDGER!"

Ludger instantly sat up in his bed and sighed heavily. "Aw crap."

* * *

Ludger made his way down the stairs, limping lightly, and saw that Milla, Maxwell, and Ophis had finally returned.

However, Milla was not at all pleased. She was very angry. She pointed at the woman Ludger had found and demanded, "Is _this_ the reason you didn't show up to work tonight?!"

Ludger put up his hands defensively. "Now, now, Milla. I can explain this…"

* * *

Ludger then proceeded to explain the events of the past couple hours to the irritated Milla.

Milla folded her arms in annoyance. "So you're telling me that you got attacked by some random woman and then found some other random woman and decided to bring _that_ woman home because she was passed out on the ground?"

Ludger sweat-dropped in response. "Wh-when you put it like that…it makes me sound stupid."

Milla looked at him with a deadpan expression.

However, as the two spoke they heard a muffled moan before turning to the side as the woman Ludger had found began to awake and then sat up and looked around.

She then saw Ludger and turned to him. "Tell me, are you the one who found me?"

Ludger nodded in agreement.

"Why did you bring me to your home?"

Milla pointed to the woman. "See? Even she thinks you're stupid."

Ludger sighed in exasperation. "I saw you lying there on the road and just couldn't leave you there. I thought something might happen to you."

The woman looked at him surprised and then smiled. "How kind of you."

Ludger rubbed the back of his head in response with a small smile. However his proud moment was swiftly interrupted as Milla tugged on his ear.

Milla then turned to the woman. "Just who are you?"

The woman frowned in thought. "Unfortunately I can't tell you thought. However, you, young man, I need to ask you a favor."

Milla folded her arms before Ludger could respond. "You won't tell us who you are but you want to ask a favor of us?"

The woman nodded with a frown. "Yes, I know it is an imposition, but if I don't form a contract with someone soon, I'll fade away."

Ludger turned to Milla with a worried expression.

Milla looked at him resistant but then sighed. "Ohh, fine! But if this goes south I'll run you through."

The woman nodded in understanding. "Your name?"

"Ludger," the white-haired teen answered as he walked up to her.

"Can you give me your hand?"

Ludger nodded with a raised eyebrow as he extended his hand to her.

The woman grabbed his hand with hers and then asked, "Do you agree to be the Master of Caster?"

Ludger raised an eyebrow but then nodded.

"Thank you," she replied with a smile.

After a moment Ludger winced and stepped back, clutching his right hand over his left as he felt an intense heat on the back of his left hand.

"Ludger!" Milla shouted as she ran over to him. She then turned to the strange woman angrily. "What did you do to him!?" she demanded.

"He has become my Master. As such, his body is being branded with the Command Seals."

"Command Seals?" Milla asked. She then turned and saw that a complex, red marking had appeared on the back of his hand. "What is that?" Milla asked.

"Those are the Command Seals for me, Caster," the woman, Caster, explained.

Milla narrowed her eyes and then turned to Caster. "Okay, that's it. Explain what this is all about."

Caster frowned in thought. "I can't explain to anyone who isn't involved."

Milla snarled as Ludger stood up.

"They're not going to leave," Ludger explained.

Caster looked at him curiously and then sighed. "So be it."

"Well?" Milla asked as she folded her arms.

"My name, or rather, my class, is Caster. I am a Servant in the Holy Grail War."

"Holy Grail War?" Ludger asked.

Caster nodded. "Have you ever heard of the Holy Grail?"

Ludger folded his arms in thought. "Hmm…no. Not really."

Ophis then walked up to him. "Sephiroth Graal. It's a powerful goblet many mortals believe grants wishes."

"Whoa! She said a whole sentence!" Milla exclaimed.

Ophis frowned in annoyance.

Caster nodded in agreement. "That's a simple explanation of it. Essentially, the Holy Grail War is just that, a war for the Holy Grail." Caster suddenly halted her explanation and turned.

"What is it?" Ludger asked.

"There's another Servant approaching, swiftly."

"You can tell?" Ludger asked.

"It's one of many things I need to explain. This one appears to be…Lancer."

"Lancer?" Ludger asked. His eyes then widened. "Wait a sec, then that means-!"

His words were interrupted as the door to his apartment was suddenly blown off the hinges.

Ludger, Caster, Milla, Ophis, and Maxwell then ran to the doorway and saw Lancer, whose injuries were now fully healed, standing in the entryway. A very provoked expression on her face.

Milla narrowed her eyes and asked annoyed, "Ludger…who is she…?"

Ludger took a step back in shock. "Oh crap! That's the woman who attacked me!"

Milla tensed before she extended her hand out, drawing her blade she had hidden in a long bag she carried with her. "I'm going to beat the shit out of her for that! The only blonde allowed to smack you around is me!"

Ludger sweat-dropped. "Uh, Milla, I don't think that came out as you intended."

Milla merely sent a glare his way.

"N-nevermind…"

"Good. After this is all over _you're_ helping me relieve some of the damn stress I've had all day!"

Ludger gulped. "Sh-should I be excited or scared…?"

Maxwell narrowed her eyes and raised her hand forward, her own blade, a long, red and white blade with a flat-tipped blade, appeared in her grip. "I agree. I would like to, how do you say, settle the score."

Ophis silently ate a candy she held.

Lancer narrowed her eyes as she looked at the group standing before her.

Milla smirked in response. "What's wrong? Don't think you can take us all at once?"

Lancer narrowed her eyes as she equipped her spear. "Do not presume so much. I will defeat all of you." However, Lancer then raised an eyebrow before hissing in annoyance. "It seems my plans have changed. Thank your stars, boy. You will live this night." She then vanished in a flurry of lights.

"Well that was rude," Milla remarked.

"Yes, she didn't even knock first," Maxwell added.

Milla sighed heavily. "That's…not the issue here."

"It isn't?"

Ludger chuckled lightly.

Caster then turned to the side once more.

"What now?" Ludger asked.

"Another Servant approaches. Archer," Caster explained. "Unlike Lancer, she is making no attempt to guard her presence. I believe she wants us to know she is here."

Soon, a new voice said, "Well, I guess there's point in knocking on the door."

The group looked ahead and saw Rin standing in the doorway.

Ludger pointed to the raven-haired teen and asked, "Hey…aren't you…?"

"Yes," she said with a smirk, "I am Rin Tohsaka."

Milla turned to Ludger annoyed. "You didn't mention her."

"Well she wasn't really involved," Ludger explained.

"You know, that was quite the show you put on. I've never seen a human actually take on a Heroic Spirit before. Well, I know of one human who has but that's not important," Rin remarked.

"Hold on, you saw all that?" he asked in confusion.

"I did. I followed you home to try and talk to you. I didn't expect Lancer to follow you too."

Milla stepped between Rin and Ludger. "I don't know who you are but if you intend to fight then out with it."

Rin waved a hand in response. "Don't worry. I'm not here to fight. I'm just curious what kind of person would be powerful enough and stupid enough to fight a Servant."

"Well now you know, bye," Milla said curtly.

"Hey! Don't ignore me like that!" Rin interjected, annoyed. She sighed to calm herself. "Based on that mark on your hand, you're a Master now."

Ludger raised an eyebrow and then noticed the mark on Rin's hand.

Caster then stepped in front of him.

"Oh would you people cool it?!" Rin asked angrily. "How many times do I have to tell you I'm not here to fight!?"

"You'll have to excuse us for being suspicious considering that Lancer woman just busted down the door to our home," Milla answered.

Rin sighed. "Fair enough. But _I_ am not here to fight. Now, you, what's your name?"

Ludger pointed to himself.

"Yes, you!"

"My name is Ludger Kresnik."

"Alright then, Kresnik."

Ludger put up a hand. "Uhm, just Ludger is fine."

Rin narrowed her eyes. "It's a little unusual but so be it. Okay, Ludger, has your Servant told you anything about the Holy Grail War?"

"I was in the process of explaining that when you and Lancer appeared," Caster explained.

Rin nodded. "Then are you aware of what's expected of you?"

Ludger shook his head in confusion.

"Do you even know what the War is about?"

Ludger shook his head. "I don't even know what the Holy Grail is."

Rin face-faulted. "Are you kidding me?! You're a Master in the Holy Grail War and you don't even know what the Holy Grail _is_?!"

"Sorry, but I don't."

Rin grumbled in frustration. "Okay, there's someone who can explain all this better than I can. How about I introduce you to him and he can explain all this?"

Ludger folded his arms in thought.

"So long as you don't mind us coming along," Milla interjected.

Rin frowned in annoyance as she looked at Milla.

Ludger nodded. "I'd like them to come along."

Rin sighed and scratched her head in frustration. "Fiiine! Just make sure they don't do anything stupid."

Milla folded her arms. "I'll be fine. It's Maxwell you need to worry about."

"What?! That's rude!" Maxwell argued.

Rin then turned to Caster. "Can you assume Spirit Form?"

Caster responded by vanishing in a flurry of lights.

"Wh-where'd she go?!" Maxwell exclaimed.

"I'm still here," the disembodied voice of Caster replied. "You simply can't see or feel me." She then reappeared in a flurry of light. "It's an easy and simple way to move about in the general populace without being noticed. All Servants except Saber can access Spirit Form."

Ludger nodded in surprised understanding.

* * *

Ludger, Rin, Milla, Maxwell, Ophis, and Caster and Archer, both in Spirit Form, made their way to the location Rin told them about.

"So where is this place exactly?" Milla asked.

"Kotomine Church. It's a church on the edge of town headed by the overseer of the Holy Grail War," Rin answered.

* * *

Soon enough the group arrived at the church.

Maxwell looked over the church and frowned. "I'm disappointed. The churches of Maxwell back on Rieze Maxia were much more extravagant."

Milla deadpanned, "The reason you're so fond of them is because they were dedicated to you."

Maxwell put a hand on her chin in thought and then smiled. "You have a point there."

Milla and Ludger both gave exasperated smiles.

Rin then turned around. "Now, you two can come in if you want, just let me do the talking."

Milla huffed in annoyance. She then turned to Maxwell. "Why don't you leave the Four out here to keep watch?"

Maxwell nodded in agreement and raised her hand in front of her, causing four lights to appear in front of her. The lights then floated high into the sky and then scattered to the corners of the church.

Rin merely sighed in exasperation as she walked into the church, the others following behind her.

* * *

As Rin and the others walked further into the church, Rin mentioned, "As I said, he's my legal guardian I know him quite well. Though that's part of what makes him such a big pain in the ass."

"You know, that's not very kind," a new voice remarked about Rin's comment.

Rin and the others turned to see a tall man with shoulder-length, unkempt, dark brown hair, and dull, featureless brown eyes, wearing a priest's vestment with a long purple robe, and a golden cross hanging from a necklace walking towards them.

"Ah, Kirei, about time you showed up. I thought you had already gone to bed," Rin chided.

Kirei chuckled lightly and responded, "I am not quite that old and decrepit young lady."

Rin motioned to the man and explained, "This is Kirei Kotomine, my legal guardian and overseer of the Holy Grail War." She then turned to Kirei and motioned to Ludger. "This is Ludger Kresnik. A student at my school."

Ludger laughed weakly. ' _That was a rather no-frills introduction._ '

"It is good to meet you my son," Kirei remarked.

"Oh, wow! Ludger, is he really your father?!" Maxwell exclaimed.

Ludger sighed in mild amusement, Milla put a hand over her face, and Rin grumbled in irritation.

Kirei laughed heartily. "No, nothing like that. It is merely a term of endearment."

Maxwell blinked in thought. "Is that so?" She then sighed. "I don't think I'll ever understand your human terms and phrases."

Kirei raised an eyebrow but then turned to Rin. "That aside, why have you brought these people to me, Rin?"

Rin pointed to Ludger. "There's a whole lot you need to explain to him. The others are just hangers on."

The three girls looked at Rin irritated.

"Like what, might I ask?" Kirei replied.

"For one thing, he became a Master by pure happenstance. He doesn't have a Magic Crest and doesn't even know what the Holy Grail is!" Rin replied exasperated.

Kirei looked at her surprised. "That _is_ quite a unique situation."

"But that's not even the craziest part!"

Kirei raised an eyebrow.

"I saw him take on a Servant head-on and push her against the wall, literally!"

Kirei narrowed his eyes in thought. "Is that so? You appear to be quite the specimen, Ludger Kresnik."

"So I've heard," Ludger responded.

"So, have you heard anything about the Holy Grail War at all?"

Ludger shook his head. "I know it's a War over this Holy Grail thing, but I don't know what that is either."

Kirei nodded with a smirk. "The Holy Grail is supposedly the sacred cup of Christ, the cup from which he drank at the Last Supper. It is said to grant the one wish of whosoever possesses it. For millennia people have fought for possession of the artifact. In the last few hundred years, a more stabilized, organized conflict for the Grail was established, the Holy Grail War. In the War, the Holy Grail summons great heroes and mythical figures from history and myth. It then assigns them a Class with different attributes. Saber, Archer, Lancer, Caster, Rider, Berserker, and Assassin. Seven humans, known as Masters, are then chosen to command these great warriors, known as Servants. They fight and compete over the Grail. The Servants fight in place of the Masters. When a Master loses their Servant, or their own life, they are out of the War. The last Master and Servant pair to be standing at the end of the Holy Grail War then claims the Grail for themselves."

"That all sounds very…complicated," Maxwell remarked.

"I suppose to some it can be. However, you, Ludger Kresnik, have been chosen as one of the Masters to fight in the Holy Grail War. You have the chance to claim your wish, your dream. You merely have to take it from the cold hands of the other Servants and Masters."

Ludger folded his arms in thought.

"Well? Say something!" Rin urged.

Ludger then asked, "So you're saying I'm supposed to send Caster out to fight the other Servants and compete against the other Masters to claim this Holy Grail?"

"That is the essence of the Holy Grail War, yes," Kirei answered.

"You're not actually going to get involved with this mess, are you?" Milla asked.

After a moment Ludger nodded and said, "I'll fight."

"Oh? And for what purpose?" Kirei asked, intrigued.

"I don't really care about this Holy Grail thing. However, if there are other people willing to fight and kill for it, then I can't let them have it."

Kirei raised an eyebrow. "So your reason to fight in the Holy Grail War is to prevent others from claiming the Grail for themselves?"

"That about sums it up," Ludger answered.

Kirei blinked curiously and then laughed heartily. "That is quite the answer! I must say I have not heard such a reason for fighting in the War for quite some time! I say that you will be an interesting one to watch!"

Rin then turned to Ludger. "So, do you understand it now?"

Ludger nodded in return.

"Good. Then we'll take our leave."

Kirei nodded as the group turned to leave.

* * *

As they left the church, the four lights Maxwell had sent out returned to her.

"So, any other questions?" Rin asked.

Ludger shook his head.

"Then we have no further reason to ally ourselves with each other. From this point on we are enemies."

Ludger nodded in understanding. "Hopefully it doesn't come to that."

"Unless you lose your Servant or die it likely will." She then smirked confidently. "I don't intend to lose."

Ludger nodded in return as she walked away.

"We should probably return home," Milla interjected.

"I really wish you people would let me fly. All this walking makes my legs hurt," Maxwell remarked.

"I can get us home swiftly," Caster added as she appeared.

"Really? How?"

"I can teleport us to any location within Fuyuki."

"That sounds useful," Ludger added.

The others nodded as Caster's cloak expanded outwards and enveloped the group before it shrunk in on itself and then vanished.

* * *

Back at Ludger's apartment Caster's cloak appeared from a spot in the air and expanded outwards before opening up and shrinking back to normal size.

"That…was a little weird…" Milla commented.

Ludger turned to the side and sighed. "I forgot about the door…"

"Hey Ludger, are you in there?!" a voice shouted.

Milla groaned. "Oh wonderful, it's her."

"Come on, she's not that bad," Ludger remarked. "In here Aoko!"

Soon a beautiful young woman with fair skin, long red hair that reached down to her ankles, and bright blue eyes who wore a simple white t-shirt, ankle-length jeans, and black shoes walked into the apartment.

Milla remarked irritated, "You really should knock first."

The woman chuckled lightly. "I would but…there's no door."

Milla twitched an eyebrow.

"Do I even want to know how that happened?"

Ludger shook his head. "It's probably best you don't, Aoko."

Aoko shrugged. "Okay. I heard explosions at that school of yours and decided to investigate. Somehow I figured you had something to do with it and came here. Based on your busted door you probably did."

"Yeah…it's a long story."

Aoko nodded with a smile and then turned to the door, which was lying on the steps fractured and splintered.

"Think you can fix that for us?" Ludger asked.

Aoko nodded. "Yeah, I can do it. You'll pay me, won't you?" she asked with a sly smirk, leaning over slightly.

Ludger gulped as he turned away from her. "Y-yeah…"

"Good boy!" she said as she patted him on the head.

"Pushover," Milla taunted.

"It's not my fault!" Ludger argued.

Aoko placed most of the fractured pieces of the door on the ground and pricked her finger lightly. She wiped the blood on one of the fragments and the pieces of the door lit up before reassembling.

"Wow, artes like that look pretty useful."

Aoko nodded with a smirk. "Yup. Though you might want to check your words, we call it magic over here, remember?"

Ludger nodded in mild concern while Milla sighed.

"So, did you come here just to check if Ludger was alive?" Milla asked.

"Mostly," Aoko answered.

"Well he's alive," Milla responded as she lightly slapped Ludger on the back. "You can go."

Aoko snickered in amusement. "You really do get defensive about him, don't you?"

Milla turned red and turned away from the redhead. "N-no I don't! I just don't like outsiders in our apartment."

"Ohhh?" Aoko remarked with a playful smirk. " _Our_ apartment? Last I checked Ludger is the one who pays the rent. You just buy food."

Milla's face reddened further. "Th-that's irrelevant!"

"Oh wow, you are _so_ easy to fluster it's funny!"

Milla snarled in annoyance.

* * *

Aoko stumbled out the door before it slammed behind her. She chuckled in amusement before walking away.

* * *

Ludger raised a hand weakly as Milla stood against the door. "Uhm…wasn't that a little-?"

"Not. A. Word," she interrupted angrily.

"Y-yes ma'am."

Milla then turned to Caster. She pointed at her and said, "She sleeps with Maxwell."

Maxwell gaped. "Why me?!"

Caster smirked lightly.

"Don't say a thing," Milla interjected.

Caster put up her hands. "I wasn't planning to."

Milla then sighed heavily. "This night has been awful. Let's go to bed."

"R-right…" Ludger agreed weakly.

* * *

The next morning, as Milla cooked breakfast she noticed that, rather than his school uniform, Ludger was wearing a blue and grey polo shirt with black pants, brown suspenders, brown shoes, a yellow tie, and a pouch on the left leg, attached to a belt loop of his pants with a chain.

Milla raised an eyebrow curiously. "What's with the outfit? Aren't you going to school?"

Ludger shook his head. "No. My leg's messed up from that fight last night. I need to head to JP's to get Fumi to look at it and see if she can repair it."

Milla sighed in exasperation.

Ludger chuckled lightly. "Don't worry, I'm just going for repairs."

Milla frowned lightly. "I'm not worried. Not one bit."

"Would you like me to come with you?" Caster asked as she walked up to Ludger.

He turned to answer but raised an eyebrow when he noticed she was wearing a black blouse, purple jacket, a long tan skirt, and tall brown boots. He also noticed that she no longer wore her hood, allowing him to fully see her lilac-colored hair that reached her waist, her bangs parting in the middle of her forehead, framing her soft face and light blue eyes, as well as her slightly pointed ears.

Ludger remained silent as he looked at her for a moment.

Caster tilted her head curiously. "Are you alright, Master?"

Ludger shook his head of the cobwebs when he felt Milla's vicious glare upon him. With a weak smile he responded, "I-I'm fine. I just hadn't seen what you looked like without that hood."

Caster smirked lightly and asked, "Well…do you like what you see…?"

Ludger gulped lightly. "I, uh…"

Their conversation was interrupted by the sound of a wooden spoon snapping in two.

Ludger paled and said with a weak chuckle, "W-we should get going."

"As you wish, Master," Caster responded.

Ludger scratched his cheek lightly. "Erm…could you call me Ludger instead."

Caster nodded. "Very well then, Ludger."

* * *

Eventually the two arrived at an old, heavily damaged building.

"What…is this place…?" Caster asked.

"It was Fuyuki's main governmental building. Supposedly it was destroyed ten years ago when the entire city was engulfed in a massive fire. I don't really know much about it since I wasn't here at the time," Ludger answered as they entered the building.

"Is this really allowed?"

"Yes. Even though the exterior of the building was destroyed, the JP's facility within still functions normally. What we're after is the Terminal."

Caster blinked curiously. "Terminal?"

Ludger nodded. "It's something that JP's uses. There are JP's branches all throughout Japan, and these Terminals connect the branches."

"Interesting. Modern technology has advanced quite far from my time."

"Oh? And how ancient is your time?"

Caster frowned lightly.

Ludger shrugged.

* * *

Soon the two arrived at a large, dome-like room with a wide floor with many symbols on it and a four-pronged mechanism in the middle.

"Is this really…a Terminal…?" Caster asked.

Ludger nodded as he placed a hand on the machine. "Yes, this should teleport us to the Terminal in the main branch at Osaka." Ludger pulled a cellphone from his pocket and, after thumbing through it for a moment he pointed his phone at the pillar in the center.

A few seconds later a light emanated from the pillar before shooting up at a large spinning mechanism on the ceiling.

"Hang on tight, it's about to get weird," Ludger remarked.

Caster remarked by wrapping her arms around Ludger's.

Ludger flinched and turned mildly red as he felt his arm get pressed between her bosom.

She looked up at him with faux curiousity. "Something wrong?"

"N-no…it's fine…" he stammered.

The two were soon enveloped in a bright light.

* * *

After a moment the light died down and Caster looked around.

"Did it work?" she asked.

"Yeah, it did. The Terminals all look mostly the same," Ludger answered.

"So where do we head now?"

Ludger sighed. "Well…I forgot to ask Fumi what room she's in so I guess we find Mako or Otome and see if they know."

Caster nodded as she looked around. "This is a large room."

"The building's even bigger."

* * *

The two walked out of the Terminal and, to Caster's surprise, they were in fact in a different location.

They were inside of a large, underground facility.

The people walking through the halls looked at Caster and Ludger somewhat confused, as those around the two were all wearing business suits or other such formal attire.

"Ludger, is that you?" a voice asked.

Ludger turned around and saw a woman with short, dark blue-grey hair and matching eyes wearing a very tight black jacket that showed off her moderate bust, a short, bright yellow skirt, black leggings, and white boots that extended to just above her knees.

Ludger blinked curiously as he turned to the woman. "Mako?"

"I haven't seen you in quite a while," the woman said with a smile.

Ludger motioned to the woman and turned to Caster. "This is Makoto Sako, she works here and she's a friend of mine."

Makoto nodded as she turned to Caster.

"And be careful, she's also a really big pervert."

Makoto then turned bright red. "I-I am _not_! I told you that was an accident!"

Caster looked at Ludger curiously.

Ludger smirked and said, "When we got here at first we stayed here at the JP's building for a while. She walked in on me changing clothes one time."

"And it was _your_ fault for not making that clear!" Makoto accused.

Caster raised an eyebrow and then said with a playful smile, "Pervert."

Makoto turned white as a ghost and then slumped her shoulders. "I _am_ going to get you back for this, Ludger."

Ludger chuckled in amusement. "I know. But it's worth it. Say, do you know where Fumi is?"

Makoto shook her head. "No, I haven't seen her today. Otome might know though. You can find her at the infirmary as usual." A walkie-talkie on Makoto's waist suddenly started beeping. "Aw crap! Sorry Ludger, I gotta go!"

"See ya, Pervy," Ludger teased.

Makoto merely shot him an annoyed glare before rounding a corner.

"She seems like an energetic one," Caster remarked.

Ludger chuckled lightly. "She is. Come on, we should go find Otome."

"Is she another acquaintance of yours?"

Ludger nodded as the two walked through the hallways.

* * *

The two soon made their way towards a large door with a sign in the front that read "Infirmary".

"So the one we seek will be within?" Caster asked.

"Someone who can get us to the one we're looking for at least," Ludger answered.

"I see."

Ludger then opened the door and looked around. "Hello?" he called out.

"O-oh! Over here!" a voice shouted before a woman with short, chin-length, dirty blonde hair that curled at the ends, a single tuft sticking up on the top of her head and light yellow eyes wearing a pink nurse's uniform which was slightly open on the left side, exposing a small portion of her striped bra underneath, a white lab coat, white tights, white slippers, and a stethoscope around her shoulders.

Ludger waved and said, "Hey, Otome."

Otome's eyes widened before she exclaimed gleefully, "Ludger! It's you!" She then noticed Caster standing next to him, snickering lightly in amusement, and calmed herself a little. "So, what can I do for you?"

"Good to see you're as energetic as ever," Ludger remarked as he walked up to her, limping lightly.

"Oh! Did you hurt your leg?!" she asked emphatically.

Ludger chuckled lightly and put his hands up. "Don't worry, I'm okay. The Augmentations in my leg malfunctioned a bit and I was hoping to find Fumi so she can repair them."

Otome sighed in response. "That's fair enough, but at least let me take a look to make sure the real part of your leg is undamaged."

Ludger smiled weakly. "You're…not going to tell me where Fumi is until I let you do a check-up…are you?"

"Nope," Otome chirped.

Ludger sighed in resignation.

* * *

Ludger sat as Otome felt and examined his leg.

"So, how is it?" Ludger asked.

Otome stood up and nodded with a smile. "It doesn't seem like you did anything awful to it."

"Satisfied?" he asked with a light smile.

Otome nodded with a bright smile. "Fumi is on the lowest floor, holed up in one of the unused storage rooms. That's pretty much where she's been spending most of her time."

Ludger nodded as he stood up. "Thanks." He then turned to Caster. "Let's go."

Caster nodded in agreement.

Otome waved happily as the two exited the room.

* * *

After a long trip down many flights of stairs and through many dark hallways, the duo finally arrived at a large door with a small amount of light peeking through.

Ludger rapped his fist against the door a couple times.

After a moment's pause the sound of locks moving emitted through the door before it slid open.

As the door opened, a woman with short black hair tied in pigtails and sleepy grey eyes wearing a tight white cheongsam with a pink flower pattern that strained against her large bust along with matching white slippers and long black coat slung over her shoulders. "Yeah, what do you want?" she asked in a tired, annoyed tone. She looked ahead of her and saw Ludger. "Oh, Ludger. What do you want?"

Ludger chuckled weakly. "Still not the most personable of people, are you?"

She smiled lightly. "For you I can be."

"Uhm…okay…?" Ludger then motioned to the woman and turned to Caster. "This is Fumi Kanno. Think of her as my mechanic."

Caster blinked. "Mechanic? Are you a machine?"

Ludger shook his head. "No. I…got into an accident a few months ago and almost died. I was saved but only because my body was heavily altered and augmented with cybernetic implants. Ranging from carbon-fiber mesh in my skin and muscles to actual mechanisms implanted my legs to allow me to run faster."

Caster raised an eyebrow but then nodded in mild understanding. "I didn't realize they had that kind of technology yet."

Fumi scratched her shoulder and interjected, "Officially, we don't. JP's has tech way beyond what the rest of the world has." She then turned to Ludger. "So, why did you come all the way to see little ol' me?"

Ludger nodded and explained, "I got into a bit of a fight the other day and one of the Augs in my right leg messed up. Fortunately I didn't get hurt that bad but it was annoying."

Fumi nodded and motioned into the room.

* * *

Ludger sat down on a chair and Fumi knelt down next to him as he rolled up his pants leg.

Fumi ran her finger down part of his leg, unintentionally causing Ludger to tremble, before she pressed lightly. At that moment a small panel on his leg flipped open, revealing several ports and plugs. Fumi reached behind her and grabbed several wires from the table behind her. She plugged them into the spot on his leg and looked at the laptop next to her.

"Well? Figured it out yet?" Ludger asked.

Fumi glanced up at him and then back to her computer. "A minor programming glitch."

"Do I even want to know…?" he asked unsurely.

Fumi smirked slyly. "I don't know. Do you?"

"I don't think so…"

Fumi wordlessly returned to her laptop and began clacking away on the keys.

* * *

A few moments later she closed the laptop and pulled the cables from his leg. "Okay. Stand up and stomp you're a foot a little. That should get everything back in order."

Ludger nodded and did so. After a pause he nodded. "Okay, that seems to have done it. Thanks for the help, Fumi."

"So what do I get?"

Ludger blinked. "What?"

"Don't you usually pay a mechanic?"

"Uhm…I…don't really know…"

Fumi snickered lightly. "I'm just teasing. That should handle your little problem. There shouldn't be any others."

Ludger nodded in appreciation. "Thanks."

Fumi nodded as Ludger and Caster walked out the doorway.

As the door closed one of the screens behind Fumi lit up, showing an image of Makoto.

"Well, Fumi?" Makoto asked.

Fumi turned to Makoto and shook her head. "No. He hasn't remembered yet."

* * *

As Ludger and Caster exited the destroyed JP's facility in Fuyuki, Caster turned back to the relic of a building. "To think a facility such as this already exists. I had assumed magic was required for actions such as that."

"Well, people can be surprising sometimes," Ludger interjected.

Caster smiled in amusement. "Yes, I suppose they can." She then turned to Ludger. "So, where do you plan to go now?"

Ludger folded his arms in thought. "Well…I'd considered going to school but the day is half-over at this point. So…I think I'll head to the restaurant. You want to come?"

"If you don't mind, I'll just accompany you in Spirit Form." Caster then swiftly vanished from sight.

Ludger shrugged in response. "Works for me."

* * *

Sometime later, Ludger, now wearing a black butler uniform, walked up to a restaurant with a large sign that read "Macaron" on the front.

"Did I mention you look quite dashing?" Caster, still invisible, asked in amusement.

Ludger huffed in annoyance.

As he walked through the door a woman with shoulder-length brown hair and purple eyes with a beauty mark just under the right side of her mouth wearing a light brown dress with a halter top that had a long slit up the right side to just above her knee over a white, long-sleeved blouse that hugged her large bosom tightly, and tall brown boots turned around excitedly as she saw Ludger. "Ahh, Ludger. I didn't expect you to come in early today."

"Yeah, some things came up so I came here instead, Ryouko," Ludger replied.

Ryouko pouted lightly. "Hmph, you make it sound like I'm your second choice."

Ludger tensed. "Uh, I-I didn't mean it like that…"

Ryouko giggled in amusement. "No need to worry. I'm merely teasing. Milla is in the back cooking. So you could probably help Maxwell and Azuki deliver orders."

Ludger nodded with a sigh of relief. "Okay, I can handle that."

* * *

As Ludger walked towards the back of the store he saw Maxwell wearing a black French maid uniform. He gulped lightly as she walked up to him carrying a tray of food.

"Ludger! What are you doing here?"

"I had to get my Augs taken care of and I know it'd just cause even more trouble if I went to school late rather than not at all," Ludger responded.

"I see," she responded.

"You don't even get it, do you?"

Maxwell frowned in annoyance. "Of course I understand it."

"Right…" His face turned slightly red as he noticed the long white socks she wore.

"Is something wrong, Ludger? Your face is turning red."

Ludger stepped back lightly and chuckled weakly. "N-no, I'm okay." He then walked past her.

Maxwell looked at him curiously and then shrugged before continuing to deliver the food she held.

* * *

Ludger continued the rest of the day working at the restaurant delivering food until the next shift of employees arrived.

"Mmm…finally time to go home," Maxwell said happily.

As Maxwell, Milla, Ludger, and Ophis, whom had arrived during the others' work, made their way home, Milla turned to Ludger.

"So what happened with your leg?" Milla asked.

"Nothing major. Apparently there was something messed up with the programming, but it's working now," Ludger answered.

Milla frowned, unconvinced. "I hope so. If that Lancer woman comes back you need to be able to fight. Maxwell and I can't babysit you all the time."

Ludger laughed weakly. "Thanks…I think…"

* * *

As the group returned to their apartment complex, Ludger noticed a letter sticking out of their mailbox. He pulled it out and saw that it was unmarked. ' _Must be another mission,_ ' he thought.

* * *

After they returned to the apartment Ludger opened the letter.

"What's that?" Milla asked.

"Another job," Ludger answered.

Milla sighed. "Ugh…with a company that big, you'd think they could deal with these Stray Devil things on their own."

Ludger shrugged. "It means we can use all of their equipment and technology for free, so I think it balances out."

"Maybe you do, but you're the only one here who needs to get oil in his joints ever so often. Maxwell and I," Ophis tugged on her skirt, "and Ophis, are completely organic."

"Technically I am," Maxwell began before Milla put a hand over her mouth.

"So what is it this time?" Milla asked.

"Apparently there's been a few incidents of pets going missing nearby. They think a Stray Devil is causing it and they want us to go and investigate," Ludger explained as he read it.

Milla then turned to Ophis. "Okay Ophis, Lulu has to stay here this time."

The small black cat meowed in opposite, Ophis also placed her hands over the feline.

Milla twitched an eyebrow in annoyance.

"It's alright, the Four say they'll protect Lulu. They really like cats," Maxwell added.

Milla sighed. "Whatever, let's just get this over with."

Ludger nodded in agreement.

* * *

 **And that wraps up this chapter. Hopefully everyone enjoyed it. If you did be sure to leave a review, leave one even if you did not (Just try not to be rude about it). If you are curious about anything put that into a review too and I will do what I can to answer it. Well that is all for now, buh-bye.  
**


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter II**

 **Greetings to all my readers, however many of you there are. I am here with another chapter of Chromatic Devil...though I assume most of you knew that already. I sincerely hoped you enjoyed the first chapter of the story, and I hope you enjoy this chapter as well. If you do, be sure to leave a review. If you do not, try to leave a review that is at least coherent. Also be sure to leave a review if you are confused or have any questions about anything, as I will do my best to answer your questions. Not too much else to add so I would like to thank my secondary author Bakuto Masaki for his help with this story. So, time for the reviewer responses.**

 **nice: Thank you. I am sure you will enjoy the game.**

 **Manshiro: That blending of elements is how I do things. I cannot personally say whether I am good at it or not but the readers of my other stories seem to like it well enough. The devils are already aware of the Holy Grail War, they would be stupid if they had not noticed it by this point.**

 **He is going to school again because this is a new world he knows nothing about. So he is going to school to try and mesh in. And yes, Ludger's body has reverted in age somewhat.  
**

 **She is back in the original world.**

 **They arrived in this world a few months ago.**

 **I am not sure I understand the question. What does Muzet have to do with anything?**

 **chronotimeguard: I suppose it might depending on how you like your stories to be. I like them to be blended and meshed together, rather than separate.**

 **Well, there are no further reviews to respond to, so I suppose it is time to move on to the main event, the chapter itself. Shall we?**

* * *

Ludger, Milla, Maxwell, and Ophis returned to their apartment after completing their mission to hunt a Stray Devil.

Milla sighed heavily as she sat on the sofa in the lounge. "That thing was so disgusting."

"Agreed," Maxwell added as she pulled something out of her hair and threw it into the waste can.

"Come on, it wasn't that bad," Ludger remarked.

Milla twitched an eyebrow. "You were several meters away when that thing exploded into a huge mass of goo."

Ludger laughed uncomfortably before suggesting, "We should probably wash up and then get some rest."

"I agree." Milla then put a hand on his shoulder. " _You_ will wait until after the rest of us are done."

"R-right…"

* * *

The next day, Ludger made his way towards the door to his apartment upon hearing a knock.

He opened the door to see Sakura standing in the entryway with her customary smile. "Good morning, Senpai."

Ludger nodded and then turned and shouted behind him, "Oy! Milla, I'm leaving!"

"Did you get your lunch?" Milla shouted back.

Ludger blinked curiously and looked into his bag before twitching an eyebrow.

"It's on the counter."

"R-right…!" Ludger turned to Sakura with an apologetic smile. "Sorry, this won't take long."

Sakura shook her head. "It's fine."

* * *

Soon enough the duo made their way onto school grounds before heading for their respective classrooms.

As Ludger entered his own classroom, Aika walked up to his desk.

"So what happened to you yesterday?" Aika asked curiously.

"Yeah, man, where were ya?" Saji added as he sat nearby.

Ludger smiled apologetically. "Sorry about that, I got into a little accident the other day after school. I had to stay away from school for the day to heal up."

Aika raised an eyebrow as she looked him over. "Well, you look fine."

"I do now. But don't worry, I'm fine now."

Aika nodded curiously before moving to her own seat.

* * *

As the time for lunch came around, Ludger and Aika made their way into another of the old, unused classrooms in the building to eat their lunch.

After some time the two left the room and returned to the class, though Ludger had to return to the old classroom to get his tie.

* * *

As the day came to an end, Ludger made his way to the school's gate when a voice called out to him, "Ludger, wait for a moment."

Ludger sighed and turned around to see a young woman around his age with short black hair in a bob cut, violet eyes, a slim figure, and wearing the female Kuoh uniform along with rounded, violet-colored spectacles walking up to him. "Sona Shitori."

Sona smirked in response. "I'm glad you remember my name."

"This is the fifth time you've come to me. I apologize, but I'm not interested in joining the student council."

Sona folded her arms in frustration. "Why is that?"

Ludger sighed. "I've said it before. I'm not interested in taking on the responsibilities associated with joining the Student Council. Besides, I've already got enough plates spinning at this point."

"How?" Sona persisted. "From what I know, you only do classes and have no other obligations aside from your part-time job."

Ludger flattened his brow in exacerbation. ' _And just how do you know all that…?_ '

"You also haven't taken an interest in the other clubs. You also have some of the highest grades in all of your classes, excluding history."

Ludger twitched an eyebrow. "…Ah, well, I-"

A new voice then interjected, "Isn't it rather unbecoming for a woman to be this desperate?"

Sona and Ludger turned to see a young woman with long black hair tied in a long ponytail that still managed to reach her ankles which had two long antennae-like strands sticking out and sloping backwards along with violet eyes and a very large, very generous bust as well as the female Kuoh uniform with a shoulder-cape.

Sona frowned and rebutted, "Desperate, Himejima? I am merely trying to get a good student in a place where his skills would be truly appreciated."

Ludger turned to the woman and blinked in thought. "Erm…who are you again…?"

She smiled with a slight tinge of discomfort and answered, "I am Akeno Himejima."

"Right…" Ludger answered curiously.

Sona sighed and turned to Ludger. "We'll continue this discussion later, Ludger," she stated before walking away.

Ludger sighed and turned to leave when Akeno put a hand on his shoulder. "Excuse me, Ludger, but I would like to talk to you now."

Ludger sighed and turned to her. "Fine." He then blinked in thought. "Wait, how do you know my name?"

Akeno lowered her brow slightly. "Ah, well…" She then smiled and asserted, "That's not important. Come with me, will you? My club's president would like to speak with you."

Ludger scratched the back of his head in thought. "Oh great…another club…"

* * *

Akeno led Ludger to the old school building on Kuoh's property, through many of its rustic hallways, before ending up at what Ludger assumed was the door to her club's clubroom.

As Ludger stepped in he looked around and saw that it was a large room with little on the back wall where the doors sat, a small number of windows on the left wall with the curtains drawn, several simple paintings on the far wall, and multiple more paintings on the right wall with a door in the far corner, along with a large, red rug on which a wide table and large chair at the back wall of the room and an elliptical red table with two couches on either side of it sat.

Ludger looked around incredulously. ' _This place isn't creepy at all…_ ' he thought sarcastically.

At that moment a figure walked from behind a curtain to the back of the room.

"Thank you for coming, Ludger," Rias said as she sat in the large chair at the back of the room.

Ludger widened his eyes slightly. ' _W-wow…_ ' "Beautiful…" he muttered.

Rias blinked in thought and then smiled. "Why, thank you."

"H-huh…?" Ludger mumbled curiously.

Akeno then tapped him on the shoulder. "You said that aloud."

"O-oh…" He then turned his attention back to Rias. "So, what exactly do you need?"

Rias nodded. "I'll get straight to the point. I'd like to ask if you would be willing to join the Occult Research Club."

Ludger narrowed his eyes in thought. ' _This could be a good chance to investigate this Fractured Dimension more thoroughly. Maybe I can find the Divergence Catalyst and get back home…but then I'd have to face that debt…_ ' He shook his head of the thoughts and asked, "What does that entail exactly?"

"Simple really. Conduct research into the world of the supernatural. Things like devils, angels, Youkai, wizards, witches, ghosts, and things of that nature."

Ludger folded his arms in thought. "Hmm…alright. I'll join."

Rias blinked in thought. ' _That was easier than I expected._ '

"So, what now?"

Rias nodded before she stood up. "Wait here and introduce yourself to your fellow members while I get the paperwork set up."

Ludger blinked curiously. "Other members?"

At that moment, the door to the room opened and Ludger turned to see two people walk in.

The first was a petite girl who appeared to be around fifteen, with short white hair with two slightly longer bangs going past her shoulders and several loose bangs around her forehead, while the back was in a short bob cut, along with hazel eyes, a black, cat-shaped clip on both sides of her hair, as well as the Kuoh Academy uniform, the variant without the shoulder-cape.

The second was a girl with fair skin, bright blue eyes, and long, waist-length, blonde hair and an impressive bust wearing the female Kuoh uniform minus the shoulder cape.

The white-haired girl looked at Ludger incredulously. "Koneko Toujo."

The blonde girl bowed respectfully. "My name is Yumi Kiba."

"Nice to meet you," Ludger responded. He then noticed Koneko carrying a plate of marbled biscuits with chocolate chips arranged in a three-pointed star shape. ' _Wait…aren't those…?_ ' He pointed to the biscuits and asked, "Hey, where did you get those cookies?"

Koneko looked at the plate curiously and pulled the plate close. "Mine."

Yumi chuckled weakly. "Please forgive her, she quite fanatical about her sweets."

Ludger folded his arms and asked, "Where did you get those? Answer."

"Mine," Koneko replied plainly as she took a bite.

Ludger pointed down at the biscuits and added, "That's a unique pattern that I make. Where did you get them?"

"I got them. Mine."

Ludger twitched an eyebrow and picked up the plate. "I made these for a friend. And you stole them from Ophis, didn't you?"

Akeno flinched slightly as he spoke.

Koneko grumbled in frustration. "Ophi gave them to me." She then stomped on Ludger's foot.

"Yowch!" Ludger shouted as he hopped on one foot in pain before tripping, causing Koneko to watch in horror as Ludger fell to the floor, dumping the plate and biscuits across the floor.

"My cookies!" Koneko shouted, uncharacteristically.

"My foot!" Ludger rebutted.

Koneko had waterfall tears falling as she looked at the dirty and crushed biscuits. "My cookies…"

Risa, as she reentered the room, sighed heavily. "Well this is off to a magnificent start…"

Akeno giggled lightly.

* * *

Ludger sighed as he walked back towards his apartment, limping slightly. "Damn her…that friggin' hurt."

A voice then called out to him. "U-uhm, excuse me…"

Ludger blinked curiously and looked around before seeing a beautiful girl around his age with waist-length black hair, dark lavender colored eyes, an impressive bust, and a school uniform consisting of a tight, form-fitting red blazer, a white, collared shirt, red bowtie, a short, pleated, green miniskirt with a white strip near the base, knee-length white socks, and brown formal shoes.

Ludger blinked in thought as he looked at the girl. "Uh, can I…help you…?"

The girl blushed as she looked off to the side. "U-uhm, y-you're Ludger Kresnik, are y-you not?"

Ludger nodded in confusion. "Yeah…I am…"

She smiled and sighed in relief. "My name is Yuuma Amano, and I was just wondering if…maybe you would…"

"Would…what…?"

"U-uhm…wouldyoupleasegooutwithme!?"

Ludger blinked in confusion. "…Huh…?"

Yuuma's cheeks gained a darker tint of red as she asked, "W-would you like to g-go out with me…?"

Ludger, thoroughly perplexed, answered, "Uh…s-sure…"

Yuma smiled widely and asked surprised, "R-really!?"

"Y-yeah…"

"Thank you!" she exclaimed hurriedly. "Are you free this weekend?!"

Ludger nodded slowly. "Yeah…"

She bowed politely and then ran off.

"W-was that…real…?"

"Milla gonna kill ya," Ophis blurted out as she appeared next to Ludger.

"Uwah!"

"Hmm?" she asked as she turned to him.

"H-how long have you…been there…?"

"Whole time. You and the crow never noticed me."

Ludger blinked curiously. "Crow…?"

Ophis pointed in the direction Yuuma ran off.

Ludger turned to Ophis annoyed. "Oh come on, she's not some scavenger."

"She's a crow," Ophis said blandly before she bent down and picked up a black feather.

Ludger took the feather and raised an eyebrow. "Is she…a Harpy maybe? I didn't see any-"

Ophis hopped up and smacked him on the back of the head. "Dumdum. Not Harpy. Crow." She then pointed to the feather. "Show to black-haired stripper or perv."

Ludger rolled the feather in his fingers in thought. "Right…I'll give Fumi a call."

Ophis nodded. "Good. Milla still gonna kill ya."

Ludger looked at her with a sideways glance. "…Ten batches of cookies and a small cake to not breathe a word of this to Milla."

"Deal."

* * *

Sometime later, at the group's apartment, Milla walked into the kitchen and noticed the large batch of biscuits on the counter. "That's a lot of food," she muttered as she looked at it all.

"Mine," Ophis said sternly.

Milla shrugged in response. "Whatever."

* * *

The next day, Ludger made his way to the JP's Terminal in Fuyuki after school, Caster walking invisibly beside him.

"It's lucky that redhead didn't give you anything to do today," Caster remarked.

"My joining of the club hasn't been finalized yet, so there's not really anything they can do," Ludger responded as he activated the code for the Terminal.

* * *

After arriving at the main branch of JP's, Ludger and the invisible Caster wandered through the area searching for Fumi until they made their way to tucked away little room.

"Hey, Fumi!" Ludger called out as he looked around. "Hey, Fumi, where are y-WHOA!" Ludger exclaimed as Fumi stepped out of her room, clad in her black jacket with no other clothing on.

Fumi raised an eyebrow as she looked at him. "What's with that reaction?"

"Wh-why the hell are you…like _that_!?"

Fumi looked down at herself and then turned back to Ludger. "My clothes got dirty. So I took them off."

"I…see…" ' _Good thing Milla isn't here…_ '

Makoto walk into the area with Fumi's clothes folded in her arms. "Fumi, your dress is-wh-what the hell!?"

Fumi turned to Makoto, annoyed. "What now?"

Makoto pointed at Fumi and shouted, "Why the hell are you naked in front of Ludger!?"

Fumi raised an eyebrow in thought and put her hands in her hips, causing her coat to flare out and expose her entire body to Ludger. "What's the problem?"

Ludger gaped slightly as he saw her body in full, a small amount of blood dripping from his nose.

Fumi folded her arms under her sizable breasts in annoyance. "What for?"

Ludger continued staring, unable to look away, before he was hit in the face by a shoe. "Wh-what the…?! Who threw that!?"

Makoto groaned and tossed Fumi's clothes at the unwitting exhibitionist. "Fumi! Put your clothes on!"

Fumi sighed and swiftly dressed herself. "So, what are you doing here Ludger? Decided to help me with more of my experiments?"

"No," Ludger responded bluntly. "I can't even remember what happened the last time I did. I just know it was bad."

Fumi sighed mildly. "I had to do that. It's the only way you'd stop screaming."

Ludger flattened his brow in disbelief. "The fact that you can say that with a straight face disturbs me." He then pulled from his pocket the feather he'd picked up before.

Fumi looked at it for a moment and then said simply, "That's the feather of a fallen angel."

Makoto frowned slightly. "That's not good…"

"A…what…?" Ludger asked in confusion.

Fumi answered, "A fallen angel. An angel that has fallen from grace with Heaven."

Ludger folded his arms in thought. "I see…how is that even possible?"

Makoto explained, "From what we know, fallen angels are cast out of Heaven for 'mingling' with other races."

Ludger tilted his head in thought. "That's it?"

The two women nodded.

Ludger put a hand under his chin. "So that means she…"

"Who?" Makoto asked.

"The fallen angel I got this feather from," Ludger answered without thinking.

Fumi smirked in amusement. "Oh? A she? Ask her on a date did you?"

Ludger sighed in response. "Actually…she asked me…"

Makoto then warned, "Be cautious then. We have no idea why she is here or whether she's alone or not. The Grigori would have informed us if any of theirs were in our jurisdiction."

Ludger blinked curiously. "Grigori?"

"The leadership of the fallen angels. Led by a pervert," Fumi said plainly.

"I-I see…"

Fumi snickered slightly. "Yeah, Miyako broke his arms the last time he was here."

"Right…"

Fumi then folded her arms and continued, "At any rate, Mako is right. You should be careful. Especially if her wing count is six or higher."

"I didn't actually see her wings," Ludger clarified.

"She means if you do see her true form," Makoto explained. "Keep an eye on how many wings she has in that form."

Ludger nodded. "So, what do you think she wants?"

"Probably you," Otome answered as she walked into the room.

"Huh? Why me?" Ludger asked in confusion.

"Your powers."

"That so…?" Ludger asked in thought.

A new voice, right behind him, answered, "That's more than likely what they want."

"Ah!" Ludger exclaimed as he leapt in surprise and turned around to see a young woman with pale skin, long, waist-length silver hair tied into a long, thin ponytail, two fringes hanging down, framing her face and simple bangs hanging down to just between her grey eyes wearing a short, skintight black dress that accentuated her fairly sized bust, a thick black coat with gold border hung over her shoulders, a butterfly-shaped pin hold her hair up, white gloves, and thigh-high yellow boots.

"Stop doing that, Miyako!" Ludger shouted in annoyance.

Miyako tilted her head curiously. "Do what?"

Ludger sighed in frustration. "Nevermind."

Miyako folded her arms under her bust before saying, "At the very least these fallen angels are more than likely after the Chromatus, probably believing it to be a high-level Sacred Gear. I will also have to contract the Grigori and ask them why we were not informed that some of their number were coming here."

Ludger frowned in thought. "Well, if they do try to take the Chromatus from me, it won't end well for them."

Miyako nodded. "Right. Be that as it may we need to be cautious. I'm going to need that harrid-I mean, that fallen angel's feather as proof."

Ludger nodded and handed her the feather.

"Good," Miyako said curtly before walking away.

Fumi then turned to Ludger and asked, "Well, need anything else?"

Ludger answered, almost immediately, "For none of you to tell Milla about the date. It's already bad enough that Ophis knows about it."

Makoto, Otome, and Fumi nodded in agreement.

* * *

As Ludger returned to his apartment he was greeted by Milla, who had a wide, sweet smile across her lips.

"Oohh Ludger…" Milla said in a sing-song voice.

Ludger tensed. "Y-yes…?" ' _What'd I do!? What'd I do!?_ '

As she walked up to Ludger she said, "So, Ophis tells me you've got a busy day tomorrow."

Ludger chuckled weakly. "Sh-she did…? Th-that's ridiculous…tomorrow's Saturday!"

"Well, a friend of Ophis' dropped by earlier. And after she left Ophis told me. This friend also appears to be in the same club as you. A club with just women. Mind explaining to me why you didn't tell me that?"

Ludger began sweating in worry. "I-it…skipped my mind…? And I was busy cooking Ophis' bribe!"

Milla's smile widened as she said in a dangerously sweet voice, "Ahh…so that's why you cooked all that food, so Ophis wouldn't tell me about your _date_ tomorrow…"

"Y-yes…" Ludger said weakly.

Milla then backed away from him and sighed heavily.

"Uh…Milla…?"

Milla clenched her fists and asked, "So then…am I not enough…?" She then looked up at him sadly.

"H-huh?"

"Are you that bored with me that you'd go out with other women…?"

Ludger began sweating heavily. "I…uh…wh-what are you even thinking, Milla?"

Caster then appeared and sighed in annoyance. "You really are thick, aren't you?"

"What…?"

"Hmm…let's see. How to put this…she thinks that you're going on that date with this fallen angel because you're not interested in her anymore."

Ludger blinked and then turned to Milla. "What? But didn't last night prove that I _am_?"

Milla folded her arms in frustration. "That doesn't…wait, fallen angel?"

Caster nodded. "Yes. The woman he's going on this date with is a fallen angel. She's also a threat to the rest of you."

Maxwell put a finger to her chin in thought. "That sounds like something I heard Rowen say once. 'Keep your friends close and your enemies closer.' At least, I think that's the right way to use it."

Milla then turned to Ludger and asked, "So then…it's not a real date?"

Caster nodded. "Of course. She's just some random girl who approached him out of the blue and asked for a date. I think even this ice-brain can see how conspicuous that is."

Ludger pouted and then added. "Well, I would if I actually had any dates when I was younger."

Caster twitched an eyebrow and leaned in close and whispered, "That's not helping."

Ludger blinked curiously. "How? If I did, I would have guessed it was a setup and not made Milla sad."

Caster pushed his head down and whispered, "Just leave this to me."

"R-right…"

Caster then turned to Milla and explained, "So, if you haven't guessed already, he's going on this date to figure out what she wants. And to make sure she doesn't want to harm any of us."

Milla looked at Ludger in surprise and nodded in understanding. "I-I see."

* * *

The next day, Ludger stood in front of Fuyuki's train station, waiting for Yuuma to arrive.

Caster, who had made herself invisible, chuckled and said, "Come on, no reason to be so tense."

Ludger turned to her incredulously. "Easy for you to say. This is the first date that I've ever been on. And if I screw it up I could die."

"Yes, yes. Just try and be on your best behavior and keep up that confidence you've got. I'll let you know if you're starting to put your foot in your mouth."

Ludger nodded in understanding.

"Ludger!" Yuuma called as she ran up to him, her bosom swaying happily in her outfit, a pink, frilled blouse, a black, knee-length skirt, and high-heeled sandals. "Sorry I'm late."

Ludger shook his head and extended out his elbow. "No, it's fine. Ready?"

Yuuma nodded and wrapped her arm through his, pressing her bust against his exposed forearm.

Ludger twitched an eyebrow. ' _Crap, crap…hers are even bigger than Milla's…_ '

"So, where to now?" Yuuma asked happily.

"Hmm…" Ludger hummed in thought.

* * *

After some time walking through the commercial district the two made their way through several stores, perusing and looking at the various items on sale. Ranging from simple, modern clothes to unique antiques.

In one clothing store, Ludger noticed a pink scrunchy sitting on one of the racks.

"Here," he suggested as he handed it to Yuuma.

Yuuma blinked curiously as she examined it before sliding it on her wrist. She smiled and showed it to him. "What do you think?"

Ludger nodded. "It looks good on you."

"Thanks!" she said happily, a wide smile on her face.

Ludger nodded, pleased, before he bought the object and the two left the store.

* * *

As they walked down the main drag of the area, Yuuma stopped and grabbed Ludger's sleeve, pointing to a nearby cinema.

Ludger raised an eyebrow in thought and then nodded in agreement as Yuuma joyfully ran into the building.

* * *

After a short deliberation they settled on a movie that Ludger himself had been interested in seeing but that Yuuma was seemingly intrigued by.

As they sat in the cinema and watched the film, Yuuma acted excited as the scenes played out.

Ludger glanced over and noticed however, that as she did this, her eyes were not entirely focused on the film itself. He frowned in thought as he observed this before returning his attention to the movie.

* * *

As the film ended, Ludger and Yuuma made their way out of the cinema.

"That was a really good movie, wasn't it!?" Yuuma asked excitedly.

Ludger nodded half-heartedly as he was lost in his thoughts.

Yuuma frowned in consternation and waved her hand in front of his face. "Hey! Ludger!"

Ludger flinched in surprise at the gesture. "Y-yes…?"

"What happened? You spaced out."

"Oh, uh, sorry 'bout that."

Yuuma puffed her cheeks and then smiled. "It's good."

Ludger nodded. "Hey, I'm feeling pretty hungry, how 'bout you?"

Yuuma nodded with a smile. "Yeah. There's actually a restaurant not far from here that I've always wanted to eat at."

"Then what are we waiting for?"

"Right," Yuuma responded with a smile.

* * *

Eventually the duo ended up at the restaurant Yuuma was interested in, and Ludger paled as he looked at it.

"Th-this is…Macaron…" he blurted out.

Yuuma nodded with a big smile. "Yup! I've wanted to eat here for a while now."

Ludger began sweating heavily. ' _Shit…this is bad. If Milla sees me…_ ' He then glanced over through the window and paled.

As he had feared, Milla was inside the restaurant, waiting tables.

"Come on, let's go inside!" Yuuma said excitedly as she pulled him in.

"Uh, r-right…" Ludger answered weakly.

As they were guided to their seats by one of the waitresses, Ludger looked around fearfully, hoping Milla would not take notice of their situation.

Yuuma and Ludger turned as their server approached their table, Ludger instantly paling as he saw who it was.

"Hello…welcome to Macaron…" Milla said with veiled anger as she put on a frustrated smile. "My name is Milla and I'll be your server today…"

"U-uh…thanks…" Ludger said uncomfortably.

After getting their orders, Milla walked away, her displeased smile still present on her face.

Ludger sighed heavily. "Great, now she hates me," he muttered.

"You shouldn't worry about it too much. She knows you're doing this to get a read on this fallen angel," Caster whispered to him.

"Is everything alright, Ludger?" Yuuma asked.

Ludger nodded. "Y-yeah…"

* * *

In the back of the restaurant, Milla growled angrily. "Grr…I know he's doing this to find out what that woman wants but…" Milla then growled and bent her serving plate in half, "why do her tits have to be so big!?"

Ryouko sighed and muttered, "Between you and Azuki I won't have any serving platters left."

* * *

Ludger flinched slightly. ' _I get the feeling she's_ really _pissed off…_ '

"That woman seemed to be in a bad mood," Yuuma said as she played with the scrunchy on her wrist.

"Y-you think…?" he asked uneasily.

Yuuma released the scrunchy with a resounding snap and turned to him. "Yeah. I wonder why."

Ludger laughed unconvincingly. "N-no idea…heheheh…"

Yuuma raised an eyebrow and then proceeded to look around the restaurant.

* * *

Eventually the two were given their meals and proceeded to eat, however Ludger kept vigilantly looking around to keep an eye on Milla.

* * *

As they left Macaron Yuuma sighed happily. "That was so good, don't you think so?"

Ludger sighed in relief and frustration before nodding. "Y-yeah…"

"So, where to now?" Yuuma asked curiously.

Ludger folded his arms in thought. "Let's head this way and see what's there," Ludger suggested.

Yuuma nodded in agreement and the two walked in the direction Ludger pointed.

* * *

The two walked for several minutes, looking around at the various shops around the area when Yuuma stopped and looked to the side.

"What's wrong?" Ludger asked.

"What's with that creepy little store?" Yuuma asked as she pointed to an oddly old-fashioned door that juxtaposed strangely against the modern brickwork.

"Well…want to check it out?" Ludger asked.

Yuuma thought for a moment and then nodded with a shrug. "Might as well. It's something unique."

* * *

Ludger opened the door and then looked into the dingy shop within. He coughed as he opened the door because it kicked up dust.

"Ahh…welcome…" a raspy voice welcomed.

Ludger tensed and looked around for the source of the voice.

"Back here lovely couple," the voice continued.

Ludger and Yuuma went around a series of shelves and saw an old man who appeared to be in his mid-forties with short grey hair that was swept back, a beard that linked with his sideburns, and deep red eyes who wore a black suit with white, extravagant trim, and a black cloak held closed with a gold-colored thread.

Ludger raised an eyebrow as he looked at the man. ' _Well he's creepy…_ ' Ludger furrowed his brow in confusion and asked, "So…what is this place, old man?"

The old man snickered lightly before spreading his arms and declaring proudly, "I am one known throughout all parts, here and there! You shall remember my name as it is etched into your soul! Kischur Zelretch Schweinorg!"

Ludger twitched an eyebrow in annoyance as Yuuma narrowed her eyes.

Ludger sighed and said, "That name's a little much to take in. How about just Zelretch?"

Zelretch chuckled and stroked his short beard. "I am fine with that boy."

' _This guy reminds me of a crazy version of Bisley,_ ' Ludger thought in confusion. "My name's Ludger Kresnik."

Zelretch raised both eyebrows in thought. "Oh?"

Ludger then motioned to Yuuma and said, "And this is Yuuma Amano."

Yuuma smiled and waved politely. "Nice to meet you."

Zelretch nodded in understanding. "Good to meet you, Miss Yuuma."

Yuuma giggled sweetly and rebutted, "You can just call me Yuuma."

Zelretch smiled happily and nodded. "Yuuma it is." He then turned to Ludger and asked, "So what are you two lovebirds in here for?"

"Nothing really. We just noticed this shop and decided to check it out," Ludger answered plainly.

Zelretch. "Well browse to your heart's content. My shop has a little of everything and a lot of something. I'm sure you can find something that strikes your fancy here."

Ludger folded his arms in thought.

Caster tapped his shoulder and whispered, "You might be able to butter her up for information if you buy her a gift."

Ludger nodded subtly and then turned to Zelretch. "Actually, this is our first date, so I was wondering if you have anything to commemorate it."

Yuuma blinked curiously as Zelretch stroked his beard in thought.

"Ah-hah!" the old man suddenly exclaimed. "I have just the thing." Turning to the side and cupping a hand against his mouth the old man shouted, "Aoko! Bring out the new item!"

Ludger flinched in surprise. "A-Aoko…?"

Yuuma looked at Ludger curiously and then directed her attention towards the back of the store as rustling, then rumbling, then crashing, resonated from a room in the back.

"I-is she…okay…?" Ludger asked.

Zelretch raised an eyebrow, intrigued. "Yes. My granddaughter's as sturdy as they come."

Ludger stepped back in surprise. "G-Granddaughter!?"

After a moment Aoko walked out from the back room rubbing her shoulder and holding a small box. She walked up to the old man and handed him the small box.

Aoko then turned to Ludger and grinned. "Hey there, Ludger. What'cha doin'?" She then saw Yuuma and snickered. "You on a date?"

Ludger nodded.

Aoko blinked in surprise. "O-oh…so you really are…?"

Yuuma turned to Ludger and asked, "Won't you introduce me?"

Ludger shook his head awake and nodded. "Y-yeah, this is Aoko Aozaki. She's a friend of mine."

Yuuma bowed politely. "It's good to meet you. I'm Yuuma Amano, Ludger's girlfriend."

Aoko giggled in amusement and was about to speak when Ludger gave her an unamused glare. Aoko sighed and shrugged before saying, "Well it's nice to meet you, Yuuma."

Ludger then pointed to the box in Zelretch's hand and asked, "So, what's in the box?"

Zelretch snickered and said slyly, "It's a special item that'll get you in bed with any woman."

Ludger and Yuuma both blushed in embarrassment before Zelretch was hit on the head by a folding chair.

Aoko, holding the chair, shouted, "Grandfather! Stop being a pervert!"

Zelretch merely twitched weakly before slumping to the floor.

Aoko sighed and then smiled apologetically at Ludger, "Sorry about that. He's an idiot."

Ludger nodded weakly as he saw one of Zelretch's feet sticking up twitching beside Aoko as he moaned before she kicked him in the head to shut him up.

"So, uh…what _is_ inside the box?" Ludger asked.

Aoko looked at him puzzled before remembering the box she brought out. "Oh right, I forgot. Here." She opened the box and pulled out a necklace with a heart-shaped pendant at the end. "It's sort of like a lover's pendant…actually I guess that _is_ what it is." Shaking her head she played with the strap some before she pulled it into two straps, two necklaces, and then tugged on the two straps lightly and separated the heart pendant. She then handed one to Ludger and one to Yuuma. "Here, try them on."

Ludger looked at the pendant in thought. "Well it's…nice." ' _Though this seems a little_ too _personal a gift to someone who's supposed to be my enemy._ '

Aoko smiled and asked, "So? How do you like them?"

The two smiled and answered, "Yes," in unison.

Ludger looked down and played with the pendant for a few seconds before he noticed a large, double-edged sword with a triangle shaped guard near the base that had an intricate gold and black pattern on it, and a cross-shaped slot just above the guard. He then asked, "What's with this sword?"

Aoko blinked curiously as Zelretch strained himself up, blood dribbling from his forehead. He leaned over the counter and saw the sword Issei was talking about and then looked at the teen puzzled then smirked. "That's a very special sword. It's known as the Dekaforce Sword."

Ludger folded his arms in thought. "Sounds interesting."

"It's more than interesting. That's why, if you want it, it'll cost you two hundred thousand yen."

Ludger flinched in disbelief. "That's absurd!"

Zelretch wagged a finger in response. "You didn't let me finish. Part of the reason it is so expensive is that I have never seen a single man lift this sword on his own. He always needs the help of one or two of his friends just to get it off the ground. So, if you can lift the Dekaforce Sword by yourself I'll give it to you for ten thousand yen. And, if you can lift it with one hand I'll give it to you for one thousand yen and I'll throw in something a little extra."

Ludger tapped his finger in thought. "Okay, I'll give it a shot." Ludger then reached out and wrapped his fingers tightly around the sword's grip.

Zelretch stroked his short beard in deliberation.

Ludger pulled on the sword to raise it up.

Zelretch gaped in surprise, as did Aoko, when Ludger hoisted the sword up above his head, with but one hand.

"Y-you've…got to be kidding…" Zelretch remarked in disbelief.

Ludger raised an eyebrow in thought. "It takes multiple people to lift _this_ up? I think even Elize could lift this. It's so light." He then handed it towards Yuuma.

"M-me…?" she asked curiously.

Ludger nodded.

"Uhm, that's not a-"

Aoko was interrupted as Yuuma grabbed onto the sword before Ludger let go, causing Yuuma and the sword to instantly slam into the ground.

Ludger flinched in surprise. "Y-Yuuma…?"

Yuuma groaned as she tried to lift the sword. "I-it's…so heavy…"

Ludger blinked curiously and looked at Zelretch and Aoko.

"We can't lift it either," Aoko remarked.

Ludger raised an eyebrow and picked up the sword with one hand, allowing Yuuma to stand.

' _I knew he was strong because of that Chromatus thing…but_ this _strong?_ ' Aoko thought. ' _Wait…could he actually be…?_ '

Zelretch sighed and shrugged his shoulders. "I am a man of my word. I'll let you have it for one thousand yen and I'll throw in something special." He then reached under the desk and pulled out a small, blue pendant shaped like a sword with a cross-guard. "This is called a Rave Stone. It is supposedly connected to the Dekaforce Sword in some way. Though I know not how."

Ludger raised an eyebrow and pocketed the Rave Stone and then reached into his pocket and pulled out his wallet. "Uhh…let's see…here." He then placed one thousand yen on the counter.

Zelretch nodded with a crooked smile. "Thank you for your business."

Yuuma sighed and rubbed her lightly bruised knuckles. "Can we go now?"

Ludger nodded and the two walked out of the shop.

After a short pause, Aoko stated, "They didn't pay for the pendant."

Zelretch blinked. "HHHUUUHHH!?"

* * *

Eventually Yuuma and Ludger, whom had the Dekaforce Sword slung on his back with a strap, made their way into a park on the edge of Fuyuki that had a fountain in the center of it.

Ludger looked around the area in consideration. "Beautiful scenery."

Yuuma smiled happily. "It is." She then walked up to the fountain before turning around to face Ludger. "Hey, do you think that, since this is our first date, you could do me a favor to commemorate it?"

Ludger folded his arms in ideation. "Depends on what it is, beautiful angel."

Yuuma flinched slightly and then smirked and asked, "So…you know…?"

Ludger nodded. "Some friends I work with informed me."

Yuuma sighed slightly. "Well, then that should make this simple." Her clothes then exploded off of her body as four, large, black, feathered wings sprouted from her back, she appeared to grow taller, and her outfit seemed to melt onto her body, composing black, strap-like objects on and under her breasts, a piece resembling a thong held on one side by three thin straps, gloves running up her arms with chains attached, spiked shoulder guards, and black, high heel, thigh-high boots.

Ludger blinked as he backed up and smirked. "Huh, maybe I should have called you sexy angel instead, Yuuma."

She smirked as a red spear of light with thorn-like protrusions formed in her hand. "You've made this day rather entertaining for me. And for that and your compliment, I'll give you two rewards. My name isn't Yuuma, it's Raynare. And, I'll offer you a quick and painless death." Raynare was about to throw the spear when glowing chains of mana appeared and wrapped around her tightly. "Wh-what the hell is this!?"

Ludger huffed as he folded his arms. "Did you really think I would have come on this date _knowing_ you were a fallen angel without a plan in case your goal was to kill me?"

Caster then appeared in a flurry of lights and smirked. "The targets of my chains never seem to see them coming."

Raynare flinched as she saw Caster. "W-wait, a-a Servant!? But then, that means…" she turned to Ludger in shock, "that you're a Master!"

Ludger wiped something off of his right hand and showed her his Command Seals. "I am."

Caster snickered lightly. "Don't feel too bad, girl. I'm only doing this because Ludger hates hurting women."

Ludger then folded his arms. "If you don't mind, I'd like to skip right to the part where you start answering my questions. Or I'll drag you to JP's HQ where they'll make you answer. So, don't make me do that."

Raynare clenched her fists and tried to wriggle out of the chains.

"Don't bother," Caster interjected. "I made sure these chains were strong enough to bind an eight-winged fallen angel. You're not getting out."

Raynare clenched her fists and then sighed. "…Fine…"

"Good," Ludger said curtly. "So, why are you here? To kill me and take my Chromatus?"

Raynare raised an eyebrow. "So your Sacred Gear is called Chromatus, then?"

Ludger shook his head. "It's not a Sacred Gear. It's a curse all in my family are born with. A curse foisted upon us by the Great Spirit of Time, Chronos. Oh, and _I'm_ the one asking the questions."

Raynare widened her eyes in surprise. "Ch-Chronos…the God of Time…?!"

Ludger nodded with a sigh. "Yes. Guess he's called something different in this Fractured Dimension."

Raynare's eyes then widened further. "Wait…if you have his gift…then that means…" She then began snickering, which turned into chuckling, and then into full-blown laughter.

Ludger narrowed his eyes. "Oy! What's so funny!?"

"Lord Azazel will be pleased…" Raynare said with a smile.

"Who…?"

"The leader of the Grigori…if he finds out that I've found the descendant of-"

At that moment Makoto rushed from the bushes and chopped Raynare on the back of the neck, knocking her unconscious.

Ludger snarled and demanded, "What was that for, Mako?"

Makoto sighed and stood up before turning to Ludger. "Sorry, I just got here. Why, was she saying something important?"

Ludger groaned in annoyance. "I think so…but she just kinda got crazy. Anyway, we captured her, as you can see. Did Miyako get in contact with those Grigori people?"

Makoto nodded. "Yes. According to Azazel, he didn't even know there was a contingent of fallens out here."

"I see…"

"Meaning this one, and whoever she's with, is acting outside of Azazel's orders."

Ludger folded his arms and asked, "So what do we do with her then? Keep her locked up someplace?"

Makoto shrugged. "I was planning on throwing her in a cell and letting Fumi milk her for intel."

"That's inhumane," Ludger deadpanned.

Makoto then pointed to the unconscious Raynare. "And she's not human."

"So? She's still a living being."

"So?" Miyako asked, right behind Ludger.

Ludger jumped up and turned around swiftly in surprise. "Gah! Quit that!"

Miyako then walked up to Raynare and knelt down. "Though, I have a better idea than that."

"What?" Ludger asked.

Miyako took out a tiny silver orb and stuck it behind Raynare's ear.

"What was that?" Caster asked.

"It's a tracker. It should give us some valuable information on her. So, for now, we'll just leave her be."

"I see…" Ludger responded unsurely. He then turned to Caster. "Caster, release her."

Caster shrugged and snapped her fingers, causing the chains to vanish.

Miyako then ordered, "Now, let's get out of here before she wakes up."

Ludger nodded. "Right." He then looked at the unconscious Raynare. "Sorry our date went so badly."

* * *

Ludger sighed as he returned to his apartment and saw Milla on the sofa.

Milla looked at him surprised and then looked away, uncomfortable and somewhat guilty. "S-so…how'd it go…?"

Ludger nodded in response as he sat down. "Good. Didn't get too much out of her though."

Milla then started to sip some tea she made as Caster said, "She also tried to skewer him."

Milla spit out her tea in a rainfall and shouted, "WHAT!?"

Ludger gulped in concern. "Oh shit…"

"Ludger!"

"Y-yes…?"

"Did you seriously almost have sex with that bitch!?"

Ludger gaped in thought before shouting, "WHAT!? NO! She almost threw a spear at me!"

Milla blinked. "H-huh…?"

Caster giggled slightly in amusement. "Well, we know where your mind's been, Milla. I said that she almost skewered him with a spear."

Milla's face blushed a very deep red before she said frantically, "Y-you should have said that before!"

Caster giggled again. "I figured you'd have discerned that yourself."

"H-how!? I don't even know how angels fight!"

Ludger asked dryly, "You couldn't figure out that 'skewer me' meant 'skewer me with a weapon'?"

Milla flinched and lowered her head, hiding her eyes and embarrassed face under her bangs.

* * *

The next day of school, Ludger, Sakura, and Ophis arrived at the front gate before Ludger was approached by Yumi.

"Oh, hey Yumi," Ludger remarked as she walked up to him.

Sakura frowned in concern as they spoke.

Ophis tugged on her sleeve with a blank expression.

Sakura looked at her curiously and nodded with a smile before the two made their way into the school building.

"What do you need?" Ludger asked.

"The Pres wanted me to let you know that your joining of the club is official and to stop by after school," Yumi answered.

Ludger nodded and waved to the blonde as he walked into the school's front door.

* * *

The day from that point on passed uneventfully for Ludger, excluding his lunchtime escapades with Aika, before he made his way to the Occult Research Club room after classes had let out.

"I'm glad you showed up on time," Rias remarked.

Ludger chuckled weakly. "Well, bad things tend to happen when I'm late."

Rias chuckled in amusement. "Fair enough."

"So, what will my first task for the Occult Research Club be?"

Rias put a finger to her temple in thought. "Ah. I have an idea. Remember those cookies you made that Koneko had last time?"

Ludger flinched slightly. "U-uh…yeah…?"

"Make some of those."

Ludger face-faulted. "R-right…"

* * *

In one of the back rooms of the Occult Research Club, a kitchen, Akeno showed Ludger the location of all the different supplies and utensils.

"We should have everything you need," Akeno stated. "So just let us know if you need anything we don't have."

"R-right…" Ludger answered unsurely.

As Akeno left the room, Ludger sighed.

"Am I seriously doing this…?" He then shrugged in response. "Well, might as well make them good."

* * *

Ludger proceeded to prepare and bake the biscuits for everyone else, taking care to make them as delectable as he could.

* * *

After some time, Rias and the others sat in the main room and could smell the biscuits in the air.

"Mmm…smells so good," Yumi said happily.

Ludger then walked out carrying a plate of the freshly baked biscuits and placed them on the center table. "Alright, done."

Rias and the others each took one and tried them.

Akeno blinked as a small drop of chocolate fell from the biscuit and landed on her blouse. She laughed in amusement as Ludger twitched an eyebrow.

Ludger then shook his head vigorously as various images filled his mind. "So, how are they?"

Rias nodded. "They're quite delicious. So, are you ready for your actual task?"

Ludger face-faulted. "You've gotta be kidding!"

"Well, you did destroy the cookies Koneko had before, so this is the best way for you to repay her."

Ludger twitched an eyebrow. "Fine. What'll it be?"

"Well the first thing you need to do is learn more about the basics of the paranormal. We have a rather simple library in the building here. It contains literature on various types of creatures including Youkai, angels, fallen angels, devils, and the other Realms."

Ludger sweat-dropped. "Th-that's a lot."

"It certainly is. Now get to it."

* * *

Ludger made his way to the library in the old school building and gaped as he walked into its library. "This is huge!" he exclaimed as he looked at the library that was at least as tall as the building itself and just wide. With a heavy sigh he began wandering the area looking at the various books throughout.

* * *

After roughly two hours, Akeno and Rias walked into the room and saw Ludger sitting at the table in the center of the room looking through one of the books as well as the large piles of books on either side of him.

"Well, you've been busy," Rias complimented as she walked up to him.

Ludger nodded with a sigh. "Yeah. I don't really understand half this stuff. It keeps mentioning all these words I don't know yet."

Rias chuckled lightly as she sat down across from him. "You needn't digest all of it immediately. I think you've done enough for now. You can go home."

Ludger nodded as he stood up and stretched. "Though I found some interesting stuff about this 'Ancient Greece' place. They had some rather interesting legends."

Rias nodded. "They certainly did. You'll have plenty of time to read more about them tomorrow."

Ludger sighed in frustration. "Oh goody…"

"Although, if you don't mind, I do have one more task for you."

Ludger raised an eyebrow and turned to her before shrugging. "Sure. I haven't got anything pressing to do."

* * *

Shortly thereafter, Ludger found himself in a very familiar place.

"This…" he started as he looked around, "is the park where Yuuma…er, Raynare, tried to kill me. And failed miserably." He looked around and then saw a box lying under a bench with a peculiar marking on it. "I guess…this is it…?"

"So you're the one Raynare spoke about?" a voice asked.

Ludger immediately jumped up and turned around to see a man with short black hair, dark blue eyes, wearing a pale violet trench coat over a white dress shirt with matching ascot, black pants and shoes with a matching fedora standing nearby. Ludger narrowed his eyes and asked, "So who are you?"

"My name is Dohnaseek. And if you're the one Raynare was talking about, then dealing with you swiftly is necessary." A blue light spear then appeared in Dohnaseek's grasp.

"Great, just what I need," Ludger snarled.

Dohnaseek immediately reared his armed back before throwing the spear at Ludger.

Ludger dove to the side, sliding the box safely under a bench, before his twin pistols appeared in his grip in a flash of light.

"What the…!?" Dohnaseek shouted in surprise.

Ludger fired a barrage of shots at Dohnaseek.

Two black, feathered wings emerged from Dohnaseek's back and covered his front, deflecting the bullets. "Tch. So you're actually rather skilled."

Ludger charged at Dohnaseek as his dual-blades appeared in his grasp.

Dohnaseek flapped his wings and flew up into the air.

Ludger switched to his hammer before throwing it forward with a powerful and forceful spin, shouting, "Hammer Toss!"

The spinning hammer slammed into Dohnaseek, knocking him to the ground.

Ludger rushed forward and switched to his swords and leapt into the air and pointed his blades down. "Falling Thunder!" Ludger then descended swiftly, his blades cloaked in lightning.

Dohnaseek's eyes widened as he dashed to the side as Ludger impacted the ground.

Ludger stood up, small flecks of blood on his cheek before he turned to Dohnaseek.

Dohnaseek stood up and snarled angrily. "You…bastard…" He put a hand over the stump of his severed arm as blood poured from it before flapping his wings and flying away swiftly.

Ludger sighed as his blades vanished before he turned to Caster, whom appeared in a flurry of light. "How come you didn't ensnare him like you did Raynare?"

Caster shrugged. "I figured you wouldn't need me help against a one-set fallen."

Ludger sighed and picked up the package he had original gone there to pick up. "Let's just get this to Rias and go home."

Caster nodded in understanding. "If you like, I can teleport us there."

Ludger nodded in agreement.

* * *

The two reappeared at the Occult Research Club building and Ludger walked up to the clubroom to deliver the box to Rias.

"Thank you, Ludger," Rias said with gratitude before she looked at his face and widened her eyes. "Y-your face, what happened?"

Ludger blinked curiously and wiped his cheek, seeing the blood rub off on his fingers. "O-oh, I'm fine. I got into a fight with a fallen angel and-"

"You what!?" she asked in shock.

Ludger stepped back, mildly surprised at her response.

Rias sighed heavily as she set the box down. "Well…I'm glad that you're alright Ludger. Try to avoid fighting with any of them from now on."

Ludger nodded in confusion as he walked out of the room.

After he left, Rias said bluntly, "Akeno."

"Yes?" Akeno responded as she walked up to the redhead.

"We need to do some digging."

Akeno giggled in amusement.

* * *

The next morning, Ludger woke up in his bed groggily. "Urgh…I think we broke something." He sat up and saw a figure lying in the bed next to him. "Oy, time to get up, Milla."

"What are you talking about?" Milla asked as she walked in the door, carrying a tray of food. "I've been up for over an hour."

Ludger blinked curiously and looked at the spot next to him. He saw a pair of voluptuous lumps formed as the covers hugged tightly to the one under them. "Milla…where's Maxwell…?"

Maxwell walked into the room chewing on a strip of bacon. "Hm? Did someone call me?"

Milla twitched an eyebrow and ripped the bacon from her grasp. "That's for Ludger, not you."

Maxwell pouted sadly. "Aww…"

Ludger gulped and looked to see several strands of black hair poking out from the comforter. "Erm…where's Ophis…?"

Ophis then leaned out from behind Maxwell and waved at him, holding a biscuit in her hand.

Ludger gulped and turned slowly to the person next to him. "Th-then…who's this…?" Ludger then pulled the comforter back and saw a young woman with a voluptuous figure, and noticeably large breasts, long black hair with split bangs, and amber eyes with slit pupils, however what Ludger noticed most was the fact that she had two cat tails at the base of her spine just above her shapely ass and a pair of fluffy cat ears atop her head. That and the fact that she was completely naked and wrapped around his waist. "HUH!?" Ludger shouted in bewilderment.

"L-U-D-G-E-R!" Milla shouted angrily.

Makoto then rushed into the room. "What's wrong! I heard scre-!" Makoto stopped midsentence as she saw the naked woman wrapped tightly around Ludger's equally naked body. "Uhh…"

Ludger pointed at Makoto silently.

"Don't. You. Dare," she said angrily.

Ophis pointed at Makoto and said emotionlessly, "Perv."

Waterfall tears fell down Makoto's face. "I'm not a pervert…I swear…"

Milla clenched her fingers around the tray and demanded, "What the _hell_ is going on here, LUDGER!?"

Ludger shouted back, "How would I know!? Perv just walked into our room and I have some mystery woman in my bed that I _thought_ was you!"

The unknown woman sat up and pawed at her eyes sleepily. "What's all this noise, nya…?" She then looked around and sniffed the air groggily. "And what smells so good, nya…?"

Ophis then said plainly, "Kuroka. Human form."

"Who?" Ludger asked.

The woman, Kuroka, spread her arms slightly and looked down at her body. "N-nya…? It's so much bigger now, nya!"

"Who the hell are you, you floozy!?" Milla demanded.

"Ludger's mate, nya," Kuroka answered plainly.

Ludger blinked, perplexed. "…Huh!? Since when!?"

Kuroka smiled and answered, "Five or six years ago under a full moon, nya. You filled me with so much love back then, nya. Though I didn't conceive a single kitten that time, nya."

"…HHHUUUHHH!? I don't even know!"

Kuroka frowned sadly. "Nya…but we know each other so well, nya. I gave you that mark on your neck to signify our mating bond when we came, nya. And you even did the same to me, nya."

"What the hell!?" Ludger exclaimed.

"What the hell!?" Milla exclaimed.

Maxwell then said excitedly, "Oh! This bacon is so good!"

Ophis nodded silently in agreement.

Kuroka smiled and asked, "Ooh! Can I try some, nya? I'm sooo hungry, nya!"

Milla grit her teeth and then unsheathed her sword and put it against Kuroka's neck, angered. "Explain! Who are you!? How do you know Ludger!? What are you doing here!?"

Kuroka looked at her annoyed. "Nya? I'm Ludger's mate, nya. And I've been here for a long time, nya."

Miyako, crouching right next to Ludger, suggested, "Why don't we all just calm down a little, hm?"

"Gah!" Ludger shouted as he leapt up and gripped onto the ceiling. "Stop doing that!"

Kuroka blinked before turning to Miyako. "Still stalking Lu, hm, Miya, nya?"

* * *

Later, in the dining room, Ludger and Kuroka had finally dressed, Ludger wearing his blue blazer and black pants, whilst Kuroka dressed in a black kimono with a red interior that she kept hung off her shoulders, exposing most of her breasts, as well as a yellow obi, a set of large, golden beads, and an ornate headdress that kept most of her hair tied up.

Kuroka was busy eating voraciously as the others spoke. "Fo gwd!" she exclaimed with a mouthful of bacon.

Milla twitched an eyebrow at the cat-like woman before turning to Miyako. "Okay, Miaba, what's going on here?"

"It's Miyako," the silver-haired woman corrected, "And the answer to that is rather complicated."

Kuroka nodded and gulped down a glass of milk in the process.

"Well, we've got time," Ludger urged. He then turned to Kuroka. "So who is this…cat-eared woman?"

Kuroka flinched slightly and frowned before returning to her usual smile and answered, "My name is Kuroka, nya. I actually work under Ophis, nya. I was sent here to keep an eye on her while she lives with all of you, nya."

Ludger folded his arms in thought. "Well…at least it makes some sense."

Kuroka nodded with a smile. "Doesn't it, nya?"

Milla sighed in frustration. "So you've been here the entire time as that cat?"

Kuroka nodded again. "I have, nya."

Milla sighed and scratched her head. "That is…irritating."

Ludger chuckled lightly.

"What are you laughing about?" Milla asked pointedly.

Ludger shook his head. "N-nothing."

Miyako snickered in amusement. "Well, that aside, you and Ophis should probably get going."

Ludger raised an eyebrow and glanced at the clock. "Oh, crap!"

* * *

As Ludger and Ophis ran out of the door to the apartment, Ludger noticed Sakura standing nearby.

"Have you…been standing here the whole time?" Ludger asked as he and Ophis walked up to her.

Sakura shook her head with a smile. "No, it's alright. I just got here. Come on, we need to get going."

Ludger nodded in agreement and the three started making their way to the school, swiftly.

* * *

Later, as the three were sprinting towards the school, Ophis raised both eyebrows in thought and was about to speak to Ludger when he slammed into something and fell to the ground.

"Ah, Ludger!" Sakura shouted in concern.

Ludger grunted slightly and looked around, "What did I hit?"

He looked ahead and widened his eyes when he saw that what he hit was a girl around fifteen with a moderate chest wearing a dark teal nun outfit with light blue accents with a white veil over her head, a brown satchel on her right hip, and brown boots with green straps in an X-pattern. He turned to the side and saw that she also had a trunk with her that had fallen over.

Ludger immediately stood up and went over to check on her. "Ah, crap. Sorry 'bout that, are you alright?" he asked as he knelt down to help her up.

However, as he reached out to her a gust of wind blew by, blowing the veil off and exposing her long, waist-length, golden blonde hair that went all the way down her back with split bangs over her forehead and a single cowlick sloping backwards above her bright green eyes.

Ludger ran off and caught it before it blew away and handed it to her as he helped her stand.

"Oh, uh, thank you," she sputtered as Ludger helped her to her feet.

"Yeah, no problem. You know, what is a nun doing in a place like this?"

"Uhm…well…I'm…lost…"

Ludger frowned and then asked, "Where are you headed?"

"I'm looking for Kotomine Church."

Ludger raised his brow in thought. "Hey, I know where that is."

The girl smiled happily. "Really!? Can you show me where it is, please?" she begged.

Ludger sighed and turned to Sakura and Ophis.

Sakura shook her head with a smile. "We can get there on our own."

Ludger nodded in gratitude as Sakura and Ophis continued heading towards the school. He then turned back to the blonde girl. "Oh, right. My name's Ludger Kresnik, what's yours?"

The girl flinched and blushed slightly. "Oh my, I'm sorry. My name's Asia Argento."

Ludger tilted his head curiously. "What are you apologizing for?"

Asia flinched again. "Oh no, was that weird? I'm sorry."

Ludger sighed and waved a hand. "Forget it. Come on, I'll take you to the church."

Asia nodded happily.

* * *

As they walked towards the church they walked by a small park where several children were playing.

Asia smiled mirthlessly as they walked by before gasping when a boy fell and skinned his knee.

The boy held his bleeding knee crying, Asia immediately running over to him.

Ludger followed behind her as she ran over to the boy.

She knelt down by him and tussled his hair lightly. "Big boys shouldn't cry."

"But…it hurts…" the boy responded through tears.

Asia smiled and placed her hands over the injury, a warm green light filling the space as the injury healed swiftly. "There, is that better?"

The boy stood up and tested his knee before smiling and saying happily, "Thanks Sister!" before running off.

Ludger chuckled lightly and remarked, "That's some pretty efficient healing artes."

Asia blinked curiously. "Healing artes?"

Ludger shook his head slightly. "It's just another name for healing magic."

Asia smiled and shook her head. "It's not magic, it's a holy healing ability I was born with, a gift from God."

"Uh…r-right…" Ludger responded weakly.

* * *

Eventually, after some walking, the two reached the church.

Ludger frowned in thought as she looked at the old, beaten up church. ' _Is this really the place she wants to be? I guess there really aren't any other churches here in town…_ ' He then turned to her and motion to the front gate. "Here we are."

Asia smiled and clasped her hands together in prayer as she looked at the church before turning to Ludger and bowing. "Thank you for your help. I don't think I would have ever gotten here without it."

Ludger shook his head in response. "Don't mention it. I don't mind helping a cute girl."

Asia flinched slightly as her cheeks reddened. "Y-you think I'm…cute…?" she mumbled.

Ludger tilted his head curiously. "Sorry, what'd you say?"

Asia shook her head frantically. "N-n-no, it's nothing! A-anyway, thanks again. If you want, I can ask the head of the church to give you something in thanks."

Ludger shook his head again. "No, that's alright. I really need to get going to school anyway."

Asia put a hand over her mouth in shock. "I'm so sorry! I didn't realize I was holding you up!"

Ludger chuckled lightly and waved dismissively. "Don't worry about it. It's fine." He waved goodbye as he made his way to school.

* * *

Ludger sighed as he walked into the front gates of the school before he heard a loud smack followed by a girl yelling in pain.

He ran to where he heard the sound and saw Sakura lying on the ground with a hand over her cheek as Shinji stood over her with a hand in the air.

"What the hell are you doing!?" Ludger shouted as he ran over to the two.

Shinji hissed in annoyance as Ludger approached them. "Ah, Ludger." He then directed a disdainful gaze at Sakura. "I was just teaching this disobedient sister of mine a lesson."

Sakura trembled and responded, in a tremulous voice, "I'm sorry…I'm sorry…"

Ludger clenched a fist and demanded, "Get the fuck away from her."

Shinji raised an eyebrow and looked at Ludger, annoyed. "What for? I was just teaching her a lesson." He then turned back to Sakura. "You're always coming to school late, and your grades are starting to suffer. And I'm always the one Father takes it out on."

"I'm sorry…" Sakura replied weakly.

Shinji snarled and pulled her to her feet by her wrist. "Look at me when you-!"

Shinji was interrupted as Ludger punched him in the face hard enough to send the teen crumpling to the floor.

Shinji looked at Ludger surprised and angry. "Why you-! What the hell do you think you're doing!?"

Ludger stood between Shinji and Sakura and said coldly, "Protecting a girl from a bastard."

Shinji stood up and spit to the side. "Tch." He then looked at Sakura angrily. "We'll finish this later," he threatened before walking away.

Sakura trembled in response.

Ludger turned to her and asked, "Are you alright, Sakura?"

Sakura looked at him surprised before nodding slowly. "Y-yes…"

Ludger smiled and nodded. "That's good to hear. Now, come on. I'll walk you to class."

Sakura nodded in response. "O-okay. Th-thank you."

* * *

Later that day, as lunchtime came around, Sakura made her way up to the third floor to Ludger's classroom.

Ludger blinked as he saw Sakura standing in front of him. "Oh, hey Sakura."

"U-uhm, Senpai…?" she asked shyly.

Ludger raised an eyebrow. "What's up?"

"U-uhm…w-would you b-be interested in…eating lunch with me today?"

Ludger glanced at Aika.

Aika shrugged and turned away. "Don't look at me," she said curtly before walking away.

Ludger smiled weakly before turning to Sakura. "Looks like I'm free for lunch."

Sakura smiled in response. "Th-thank you, Senpai."

Ludger motioned to her and said, "Okay then. Lead the way."

Sakura nodded with a smile. ' _Okay, this is your big chance, Sakura!_ ' she shouted inside her own mind.

* * *

Later, the two sat in the school's main yard.

Ludger, as he ate the meal Milla cooked for him, turned to Sakura and asked, "So, what's the deal with that brother of yours?"

Sakura flinched in response and answered weakly, "W-well, he's just stressed. He's usually nice but our family's involved in a competition and he's our representative." She then turned to him with a forced smile, "It's okay, really."

Ludger frowned in response. "You call what he did to you okay? It was completely uncalled fo-" Ludger stopped as he noticed a large red mark on the side of her neck and pointed to it. "Hey, Sakura…what's that?"

Sakura flinched and covered it with her hand and laughed weakly. "I-it's nothing, Senpai! Just a bug bite!"

Ludger narrowed his eyes in suspicion. "Sakura," he said bluntly. "What has he been doing to you?"

Sakura flinched. "O-oh? Wh-what do you mean? The bug bit me, that's all."

"Is that bug's name Shinji?"

Sakura slouched in response. "…N-no…"

Ludger clenched a fist slightly. "Sakura…please, don't lie. If you're afraid of what that bastard will do to you, you can come to my house after school. How's that sound?"

Sakura remained silent for a moment and then stood up. "I…I have to go…" She then turned to leave.

Ludger put a hand on her shoulder. "Sakura. Let me help you. Let me protect you."

* * *

 **And that wraps up this chapter. I hope you all enjoyed the chapter. If you did be sure to leave a review. If you did not, leave a review with more meaning beyond just bashing the story. And if you are confused or unsure about anything within the story, leave a review with your queries and I will do what I can to tend to them. No point in saying anything else, I would just be waffling on, so goodbye for now!  
**


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter III**

 **Greetings to all of my readers! I know it has been quite a while since this story was updated, and there are various reasons behind that, but I hope the content of this chapter makes up for the drought. I hope everyone enjoyed the previous chapter, and it seems at least a few of you did. I also hope you all enjoy this chapter as well, so be sure to post a review if you do. That said, I would like to thank my coauthor, Bakuto Masaki for all of his help in writing this story thus far and his continued help from this point on. At any rate, with nothing else to say, we may as well move on to the reviewer responses, hm?**

 **correnhimself316: I have arrived with more.**

 **chronotimeguard: I'm glad it is, that's what I aim for. For the first couple chapters of a story that tends to be the case unfortunately as I try to get the sort of "rhythm" the story will operate with. Consider it growing pains.**

 **GaryDoom: I'm glad you enjoy it. Thanks, I like to throw little hints out here and there without being overly obvious.**

 **She is a tad more manipulative, yes. In case you hadn't noticed, she was actually far more coercive and manipulative in canon than she is in most fanfics.**

 **GreyMan19: Yeah, there's a lot of set up to do in the first few chapters to lay everything out.**

 **Bakuto Masaki: It seems that some have.**

 **Blazedragon94: Thank you. I like to mix a lot of different series together, and always do my best to mix them well. I wouldn't say it's weird. Everyone has their own preferred MCs for stories. Many people prefer Naruto, I usually prefer Jude or Natsu, but I like to "try out" other characters as the lead sometimes.**

 **Artemis-Ikana: Personally, I prefer Jude over Ludger as well, I just wanted to try out a story with Ludger as the lead, I think there are some interesting possibilities with it. I suggest you finish the game, though be prepared for the endings (Yes, plural) to tear your heart out.**

 **Phew! That was a good one! Now, with that done, let's move on to what you all actually came here for.**

* * *

Ludger stood opposite Sakura after the forceful encounter with Shinji, offering her a safe haven at his apartment.

Sakura remained silent for a moment and then stood up. "I…I have to go…" She then turned to leave.

Ludger put a hand on her shoulder. "Sakura. Let me help you. Let me protect you."

Sakura glanced back at him slightly and then smiled. "I'm sorry…you can't." She then broke from his grasp and ran off.

Ludger caught up to her and grabbed her by the arm. "And why not?" he demanded.

Sakura trembled. "I-it's…I can't explain i-"

"Then don't," Ludger interrupted her.

Sakura turned to him, surprised.

Ludger smiled to her and said, "I promise you, I won't let anything happen to you."

Sakura trembled slightly. "S-Senpai…I-"

Their conversation was interrupted as the school bell to end lunch rang throughout the halls.

Ludger then let go of her arm and said, "I'll see you after school, Sakura."

Sakura nodded weakly and ran back to her class.

* * *

Later that day, after Ludger's lunchtime encounter with Sakura, Ludger prepared to leave the school when Yumi walked up to him and began to speak.

Ludger put up a hand and interrupted, "I'm going to have to skip the club tonight, I have something important to do. Tell Rias I'll make it up tomorrow with snacks."

Yumi shook her head in response. "It's alright. I was actually coming to tell you not to bother showing up, since the Pres has some family business to deal with."

"Thanks," Ludger responded before making his exit.

* * *

Ludger made his way towards the front gate where he saw Shinji antagonizing Sakura before pushing her to the ground.

"Shinji!" Ludger howled as he ran towards the two.

Shinji flinched before grabbing Sakura by the wrist and preparing to flee.

Ludger immediately rushed up and punched Shinji in the jaw, hard. "Don't touch her, scum!" He then turned to Sakura worriedly. "Are you alright, Sakura?"

Sakura nodded weakly. "Senpai! Look out!"

Ludger turned immediately and saw Shinji standing over him with a plank of wood raised up. Ludger swiftly grabbed the plank, swept Shinji's legs out from under him, and threw the plank aside as Shinji fell to the ground. He then demanded coldly, "Leave. Now."

Shinji groaned. "You bastard…she's my sister! I could report you for kidnapping!"

Miyako, standing right behind Shinji, said threateningly, "I could report you for a lot worse."

"Gah!" Shinji shouted and crawled away swiftly. "Wh-who the hell are you!?"

Miyako sniggered lightly. "That never gets old." She then turned to Ludger seriously and raised an eyebrow. "Who's the girl?"

Sakura hid behind Ludger, fearful of Miyako.

Ludger answered, "A friend. And did you just snigger?"

Miyako responded blandly, "That's ridiculous." She then pointed at Sakura and asked, "What're you going to do with her?"

"Let her stay at my apartment. And not have to get abused by a maniac."

Miyako glanced at Shinji. "I see…you know, JP's agents have the authority to pull minors from hostile environments if they have reason to believe there's supernatural involvement."

Sakura tensed in response. ' _H-how does she…?_ '

Ludger frowned in thought. "I see. I assume you're here for a reason?"

Miyako nodded. "I am." She then turned to Shinji, swiftly unsheathed her sword, and stabbed it into the ground right between his legs, narrowly missing him and ordered darkly, "Get lost."

Shinji immediately turned and ran.

Miyako sheathed her sword with a smirk. "Much better." She then turned to Sakura. "I'm guessing she's not going anywhere?"

"No," Ludger answered bluntly.

"Fair enough." Miyako then handed Ludger a slip of paper. "We finally found that Stray that's been luring men away and then gutting them. We had trouble finding it up until now."

"A-a stray…" Sakura asked confused and afraid.

Ludger frowned in thought. "Let me take her to my apartment, then I'll deal with this."

"Of course," Miyako answered.

* * *

Soon, Ludger and Sakura arrived back at Ludger's apartment before Ludger opened the door and saw Ophis sitting on the sofa in the lounge with Kuroka.

Milla turned with a smile and began, "Welcome ho-…" however her greeting and smile were cut short when she saw Sakura. "…Do I even want to know…?"

Ludger answered simply, "She's a friend. And she needs a place to stay away from her home."

Milla twitched an eyebrow.

Kuroka asked in amusement, "So does that mean there'll be more friends, nya?"

Ludger nodded. "Yes. And Milla…don't be to hard on Sakura, okay? I promised her safety."

Milla then cracked an egg over a bowl with somewhat excessive force. "Right."

Ludger then muttered, "Oh great, she's pissed."

Sakura walked up to Milla and asked timidly, "C-can I help?"

Milla answered bluntly, "No. I can do it myself."

Ludger interjected, "About that, we've got another job."

Milla groaned in irritation.

Ludger turned to Sakura. "So, Sakura, why don't you cook for tonight? And Kuroka, you keep her safe."

"Okay, nya," Kuroka answered blithely.

Sakura nodded with a smile. "Okay, what were you cooking, uhm…Milla was it?"

Milla answered, "Pork udon in chicken broth with sliced green onion, carrots, and parsley. Think you can handle that? I was in the process of making the noodles from scratch when you got here, Ludger."

Sakura nodded. "Okay, I can do that."

Ludger, Milla, Maxwell, and Ophis then proceeded to the door, with Ludger adding, "We'll probably be back in an hour or so."

Sakura smiled and waved. "I'll have the food ready," she said as they left.

* * *

Sometime later, the four arrived in front of an old, abandoned opera house.

"Well, this place is all kinds of creepy," Milla remarked.

Ludger nodded in agreement. "Is there just some kind of rule that states 'All devils must live and hide in creepy houses'?"

Maxwell folded her arms and remarked, "I kind of like it. It reminds me of that house in that horror movie we watched last week. Oh, maybe there will be Ghosts in it. Or Zombies!" she exclaimed with stars in her eyes.

"You're not helping!" Ludger and Milla shouted in unison.

Ophis then added, "If we saw them, only Ludger would be in trouble."

Ludger then exclaimed, "Holy crap! Ophis said a full sentence!"

"Y-yeah…" Milla added in equal astonishment. "Wait, what?"

* * *

Inside, the group looked around the abandoned structure and saw nothing but cobwebs and dust.

"Hmm…" Ludger hummed in thought as he looked around.

Soon a voice said through the shadows, "Well, well. Looks like there's some succulent meat tonight."

"Who's there?" Milla demanded as she grabbed for her sword.

The upper torso of a young woman with long brown hair, red eyes, and large, exposed breasts appeared from the shadows. "Tch, I've no interest in women. Get lost."

Ophis said in annoyance, "Ugly critter."

The woman snickered. "Oh, please. You're just jealous that my tits are bigger than yours, washboard."

Ludger, Milla, and Maxwell then instantly put space between themselves and Ophis.

Sparks then began appearing around Ophis. "What…?"

The woman started cackling as she massaged her own breasts before her nipples stiffened. "Try this you brat!" Blasts of energy then fired from her breasts and flew at Ophis.

Ophis remained stationary as a barrier formed around her, blocking the blasts.

* * *

Outside, several figures approached the old building.

A mildly frustrated voice asked, "So, this is it?"

An emotionless voice remarked, "Creepy."

A confused voice asked, "Rias-Senpai, is there some rule that say all devils must live in creepy buildings?"

Rias twitched an eyebrow and asked, "Are you trying to make a point, Yumi?"

Yumi shook her head. "Just pointing it out."

"We should probably get started," Akeno pointed out.

Koneko nodded as she slipped blue combat gloves over her hands.

However, as the group prepared to go inside, they heard a loud explosion from within the building.

The four ran inside and saw Ludger, Milla, Maxwell, and Ophis fighting against the Stray Devil.

"Eat this!" Ludger shouted as his dual pistols appeared in his grip in a flash of light before he fired a barrage of bullets.

"You bastard!" the Stray growled as she stepped into the light, revealing that her humanoid torso was merely the topper to a large, four-legged, fur-covered monstrosity that towered over Ludger and the others. "I'll gut you alive!" she bellowed as one of her giant, fur-covered arms reached out to crush Ludger.

Ludger swiftly switched to his blades and rushed at her, sending a series of swipes through her arm, shouting, "Azure Edge!"

Moments later blood gushed from multiple deep gashes on the arm.

"Fireball!" Maxwell exclaimed as three large blasts of fire surged out from a magic circle above her before slamming into the Stray and exploding.

The Stray roared angrily and lunged at Milla.

Milla leapt into the air at the same moment as Ludger and Maxwell.

Ludger turned to the two blondes who nodded in agreement.

All three oriented themselves towards the beast and surged forth as they started rotating in midair.

"Whirling Assault!" all three shouted as they dove towards and past the Stray.

The Stray stood for a moment before flinching and crumbling to pieces as it fell apart from the numerous gashes and cuts on its body.

Its disembodied head growled angrily as Ludger walked up to it.

Ludger switched to his hammer and raised it in the air. "Hammer Swing!" he shouted as he swung his hammer down with force, crushing the Stray's head like a grapefruit.

Koneko blinked as she looked at the fileted corpse of the Stray. "Impressive."

Ludger blinked curiously before he turned around and saw Rias and the others behind him. "How…how did you get in here? Don't tell me the barrier we used is defective."

Rias raised an eyebrow and turned to Akeno.

Akeno raised an eyebrow as well. "I noticed a barrier but it only seems to effect humans."

Milla sighed and then turned to Rias and the others before taking a look at their form and then glared at Ludger.

Ludger flinched at the look and gulped. "Wh-what? What'd I do now?"

Milla clenched a fist and growled, "L-u-d-g-e-r!"

Waterfall tears fell down Ludger's face as he asked, "What did I do…?"

Milla pointed to the Occult Research Club members and demanded, "Are _these_ the girls you're in that club with?"

Ludger nodded. "Y-yes. A-and Koneko, don't forget her."

Milla then cracked her knuckles.

Ludger gulped as he stepped back. "M-Milla…? Wh-why are you angry…?"

Rias sighed and folded her arms under her bust, causing them to rise slightly, as she asked, "Is there a problem?"

Milla pointed at Rias and growled. "Yes! There's a problem, you monster-boobed hussy! You're trying to seduce Ludger!"

Rias blinked curiously and then tilted her head in confusion. "I'm what?"

"A hussy slut temptress!"

Rias frowned in annoyance. "I beg to differ. If I had wanted to seduce anyone I would have done so already."

"Yeah right!"

Akeno giggled in amusement.

Koneko glanced down slightly and pouted.

Maxwell walked up to Milla and remarked, "I'm afraid I do not see the problem in this situation."

Koneko glared at Maxwell and poked the blonde's bosom slightly. "Evil."

Maxwell tilted her head in confusion but merely smiled before turning to Milla. "I think you should try and calm down, Milla."

Milla huffed in annoyance. "Fine."

Rias sighed. "Now, perhaps we can come to an understanding in this situation."

"Y-yeah," Ludger agreed timidly.

"So why are all of you here?" Rias asked.

"Stray hunt," Ophis said plainly.

"I see. That is the same reason we are here as well," Rias added with a nod.

Ludger put a hand to his chin for a moment and then asked pointedly, "You guys aren't human, are you?"

Rias winced slightly in surprise.

"Because that barrier we set up is designed to keep humans out and lock in supernatural beings. Maxwell found that out the hard way."

Maxwell pouted in annoyance. "My face hurt for a week."

"That's because you ran into the barrier face-first," Milla chided.

Rias sighed. "I suppose you were bound to discover anyway…" ' _Though you should have known already…_ ' "We are devils."

Ludger twitched an eyebrow. "…Milla. Remind me to yell at Miyako for not telling us about there being devils at my school."

"Agreed," Milla added bluntly.

Akeno raised an eyebrow in thought. ' _Miyako? They already met…?_ ' She then chuckled mirthlessly. ' _Of course they did. She could always find Lu in an instant._ '

"So all four of you are devils then?" Maxwell asked.

Yumi nodded. "Yes, we are."

Ludger added, "That explains why the club building is so creepy."

Yumi pointed at Ludger with a smile and turned to Rias. "See? Even he thinks-"

Rias smacked Yumi on the back of the head to silence her with an annoyed frown. "Shut it."

"How many more devils are there?" Ludger asked.

Rias folded her arms and shook her head. "I can't answer that to humans."

Ludger raised an eyebrow. "Oh? Not even to JP's?"

Rias raised both eyebrows in thought. "You work with JP's?"

Ludger pulled a small badge from his wallet.

"Duh," Milla chided. "Why do you think we hunt Strays? It's certainly not for sport."

Rias shrugged. "Fair enough. Very well. In addition to myself, the heir to the House of Sitri attends the school as well."

Ludger raised an eyebrow. "Wait, Sitri? That sounds a bit like Sona's last na – oh you have _got_ to be joking."

Rias chuckled lightly. "I see you're rather sharp."

Ludger slumped his shoulders in frustration. "So that's why she kept trying to get me in the Student Council."

"I suppose you probably have lots of questions at this point, hm?"

Ludger nodded. "Y-yeah…lots…"

Rias nodded in understanding. "Then let us return to the clubroom."

* * *

Later, back at the Occult Research Club clubroom, Rias sat in the large chair at the back of the room as Ludger, Maxwell, Milla, and Ophis sat on one of the sofas whilst Yumi and Koneko sat on the other. Meanwhile, Akeno gave cups of tea to the lot along with a plate of biscuits leftover from the batch Ludger made.

Ophis swiftly grabbed a biscuit and began nibbling on it happily.

Rias took a sip from her cup and then turned to Ludger. "I suppose since I dragged you into this, I owe you an explanation. So, go ahead and ask any questions you have." Rias' lips curled slightly as she smirked with a mischievous glint in her eyes. "Any at all."

Ludger blushed slightly and gulped.

Milla twitched an eyebrow and grabbed his ear before tugging on it hard.

Ludger winced in pain and snarled. "Ow, ow, ow." After Milla released his ear with a light snap Ludger rubbed it in discomfort. "So…why did you want me to join your club?"

Rias nodded and answered plainly, "To get you in my Peerage."

Ludger raised an eyebrow. "What is a Peerage?"

"A group of Low-Class devils who serve a High-Class devil as Servant-Devils."

Ludger folded his arms in thought and continued, "So, any benefits?"

Rias nodded. "Some. The one whom becomes a Servant-Devil gains access to the resources and protection of the King under which he serves. They also gain an immensely extended lifespan, as devils live an average of eight thousand years."

Ludger and the others gasped in shock.

"H-holy crap," Ludger remarked in shock.

Rias smiled in amusement. "Of course, there are some disadvantages as well. Though how much of a drawback is subjective to each individual."

"Like what?"

"The most notable drawback is that devils are weak against light magic."

"I see. What else?"

Rias nodded. "Yes. This one is rather subjective though but most consider it a drawback. Once you join a devil's Peerage you become their Servant-Devil. And depending on whom the King of that Peerage is, this can be good or bad."

Ludger raised an eyebrow. "You're not planning on making me the only male in your harem are you?"

Rias inelegantly spit some of the tea she drank in shock. "Wh-what!?"

"Your Peerage is nothing but beautiful women. I thought you were into boobs."

"W-watch your mouth!" Rias shouted with a face turning the same shade of red as her hair.

Akeno giggled in amusement.

"Th-that has nothing to do with a-anything! I-it's merely a coincidence!" Rias sputtered.

Akeno giggled slightly. "My, my. Really, Pres? I could have swo-"

Rias pointed at Akeno with a severely flushed face and sputtered, "Q-q-quiet you!"

Akeno merely smiled.

Rias twitched an eyebrow with a fluorescent red expression and cleared her throat. "A-anyway, as I said, when you join a High-Class devil's Peerage, you become their Servant-Devil, and each family has their own way of treating their Servant-Devils."

Ludger raised an eyebrow and asked, "How 'bout you?"

"The House of Gremory is notable even within the devilic society for treating their Servant-Devils like family, whereas most other clans treat their servants like tools or worse," Yumi answered proudly.

Ludger put a hand to his chin in thought. "I see. So they really are your harem, Rias."

Rias slammed a hand on the desk and shouted in frustration and abashment, "Th-th-they are not!"

"But Yumi just said you treat them like family. And if they are family but not related by blood then they must be like lovers."

"Wh-wh-what…!? Th-that's absurd!"

Ludger chuckled lightly. "Man, you are way too easy to fluster."

Rias sat down and blushed brightly before lowering her face, hiding it behind her crimson bangs.

"So cute," Ludger muttered.

Rias glanced to the side and asked, "W-well…do you have any other questions…?"

Ludger rubbed his chin in thought. "Hmm…what's the quickest way to become a King?"

Rias answered simply, "Be born to a family of High-Class devils."

"Smartass," Ludger deadpanned. "I meant for Reincarnated Devils."

Rias shrugged. "The only possible way is for that devil to rise through the ranks and receive a promotion to High-Class status."

"I see."

"However, there are no known instances of any Reincarnated Devil reaching that point."

"I see…"

"So while it's possible, it's never been done before. So, anything else?"

Ludger shook his head. "Nothing I can think of."

Milla turned to Ludger and frowned in thought. "Ludger, you aren't actually seriously considering joining this redhead's legion of peons, are you?"

Rias narrowed her eyes in offense.

Ludger nodded. "I am. With her family's resources we might be able to find the Divergence Catalyst or a way home."

Rias raised an eyebrow in thought. "I see. So you truly wish to join my Peerage?"

Ludger nodded once more, to Milla's disapproval.

"Very well. I only have four remaining spaces left. One Rook, one Knight, one Bishop, or one of eight Pawns."

"I'm guessing each Piece has different attributes?" Ludger asked.

Rias nodded. "Yes. The Rook grants you immense strength and matching endurance. The Knight grants you immense speed. The Bishop grants you immense magical potential. The Pawn by itself grants no benefits, however if you manage to reach a location the King has determined to be enemy territory, you can activate the skill Promotion, granting you the attributes of any other Piece minus King."

Ludger folded his arms in thought. "Okay, I'll take Pawn."

Rias nodded. "Right. Just lie down on the floor."

"Okay," Ludger agreed as he laid on the floor. His face reddened, however, as Rias walked over to him and stood near him, unwittingly giving him a view up her skirt. He glanced to the side embarrassedly and muttered, "B-black lace…"

Rias raised an eyebrow curiously but ignored it and placed a Pawn Piece on Ludger's chest. "Are you ready?"

Ludger nodded, keeping his gaze averted away from Rias. "Y-yeah."

Rias nodded and spread her arms out and took a breath. "I order, in my name Rias Gremory, you Ludger Kresnik. I resurrect you back to this soil as my servant and you have been reborn as a true devil. You, my Pawn, be delighted with your new life."

The Pawn on Ludger's chest lit up with a bright red light that filled the room. However, almost instantly, the light died down to nothing. Ludger raised an eyebrow curiously. "Did…it work…?"

"Hmm…" Rias muttered in thought.

"Performance anxiety?" Ophis asked.

"H-huh?" Rias asked surprised before her face turned the same shade of red as her hair. "Th-that's got nothing to do with it!" She thought for a moment and then put a second Pawn on Ludger's chest and attempted the ritual once more. However, just as before, it failed. "Jeez," she groaned before placing a third on his chest followed by a fourth, fifth, sixth, and seventh, failing each and every time. She groaned in frustration and grabbed her eighth and final Pawn, placing it on Ludger's chest before spreading her arms out once more. "I order, in my name Rias Gremory, you Ludger Kresnik. I resurrect you back to this soil as my servant and you have been reborn as a true devil. You, my Pawn, be delighted with your new life."

Ludger flinched as the eight Pawns lit up and slowly sunk into his chest, vanishing from sight before he felt his body heat up.

After a moment Rias sighed in frustration. ' _It took up…all my Pawns…_ ' she groaned in her mind.

Ludger sat up and sighed. "Damn, that burns a little."

Akeno nodded with a mild giggle. "Yes, it tends to do that."

"So, is it done?"

Maxwell raised a hand, causing a small orb of light to appear in her hand which she then threw at Ludger.

"GAH!" Ludger howled in pain as the orb impacted his back, leaving a small burn. "What the hell Maxwell!?"

"I'd say you're a devil now," Maxwell noted.

Ludger rubbed his back in pain. "You didn't have to zap me!"

Maxwell shrugged lightly. "It was the quickest way to find out."

Ludger twitched an eyebrow as he stood. "… And here I thought Milla was the sadist…"

"I'm no sadist," Maxwell argued.

"Then don't inflict pain on me to do the quick way," Ludger groaned.

Milla raised an eyebrow with curiosity. "So light burns you now?"

"Guess so."

Milla grinned and held up a lightbulb.

"I don't think it works like that," Ludger deadpanned. "Lightbulbs use electricity."

Milla pouted lightly and threw the bulb aside.

Ludger flexed his muscles curiously. "Wonder if my stamina increased?"

Rias nodded in response. "Most likely."

Milla twitched an eyebrow and then sighed in exhaustion. "… Great. As if I'm not sore enough already."

Rias blinked in confusion. "Doing what?"

Ludger gaped slightly. "Are you _that_ naïve?"

Akeno giggled with amusement. "She thought handjob meant getting your nails done until recently."

Rias' face once more turned the same shade of red as her hair as she groaned, "A – Akeno!"

Maxwell tilted her head curiously. "Wait, then what is a Handjob?"

Akeno leaned over and whispered in Maxwell's ear.

Maxwell blinked in curiosity and then looked at her palm. "I see. So I'm supposed to take my hand and th –"

Milla interrupted her by slapping a hand over her mouth. "Shut. It."

Ludger sighed heavily. "I swear, that lock of hair means idiot."

Koneko and Ophis sat silently, eating biscuits as the others spoke.

Koneko looked at the biscuit in her hand in thought. "He makes good treats."

Ophis nodded in agreement before turning to the white-haired girl. "Think I can join the club Kone?"

"Ask Rias."

Ophis then turned to Rias.

Rias raised an eyebrow in thought. "Yes?"

"Want to join your club," Ophis answered plainly.

"Oh?" Rias then twirled a finger in her hair thoughtfully. "Come to think of it, I don't even know your name."

"Ophis Ouroboros."

A heavy silence fell over the room.

"Wh – What…?" Rias asked in shock.

Akeno trembled lightly. "Y – You mean… the Ouroboros Dragon…?"

Ophis nodded silently. "Yes. Why?"

Ludger looked around the room in bewilderment. "Um… why do you all look like you've seen a ghost?"

Koneko explained in her even tone, "They scared of Ophi."

Maxwell tilted her head in confusion and then patted Ophis on the head, causing Rias and the others to tense with worry. "Why would you be scared of Ophis? She's a sweet girl with a love for sweets and holds tremendous mana. Nothing to fear at all."

Rias frowned lightly. "I'm afraid you don't understand. Ophis is one of the most powerful beings in existence. With a mere thought, it can wipe out entire races. To think that something like it is –"

Ludger narrowed his eyes and interjected angrily, "Okay, enough with calling her an it. She's a nice kid and our friend. And the only thing that she ever hurt was that Stray Devil last month when it insulted her adorableness by calling her a washboard. And we made a lot of progress on dealing with her temper."

"I – I see…" Rias answered with trepidation.

Ophis huffed lightly. "Worm got squashed."

Koneko then turned to Rias. "Can Ophi join?"

Ophis nodded in agreement. "Can I? Ludger will make triple treats."

"I'll what?!" Ludger shouted in shock.

Ophis pouted lightly. "You won't?"

Rias blinked in realization. "Oh, that reminds me, Ludger. Now that you're a devil, you're going to have some new responsibilities to the club."

"Huh?"

"To be honest, the designation of Occult Research Club is just a cover. It simply provides a convenient way to organize my Peerage and their various contracts."

"I see," Ludger noted in thought as he listened.

"We can worry about that tomorrow. Also, one word of warning, as a devil, you're going to experience minor fatigue in daylight and a large energy boost at night."

Milla began weeping with exasperation. "I'll never walk right again…"

Maxwell tilted her head in confusion. "I could help."

"No!" Milla immediately argued.

"Huh?"

"Is he that impressive?" Akeno asked.

Maxwell shrugged in response. "I never got a chance to see."

"And you never will," Milla deadpanned.

"Fufu," Akeno giggled in amusement. "Well it sounds like you can't take it all. Maybe you need a little 'help'. I know I wouldn't mind 'alleviating' some of the burden you take keeping him satisfied."

"No," Milla rebutted bluntly.

"Aww. You're mean."

Ludger sighed with exhaustion.

* * *

Ludger sighed as he and the others returned to his apartment and then sniffed the air, smelling a delicious scent. "Something smells good."

Sakura turned to him with a smile. "Senpai, you're back. I just finished cooking."

"You did?"

Kuroka, lying on the couch turned to him and began, "Actually, she –"

Sakura, still smiling sweetly, whacked Kuroka with a ladle to silence her.

Kuroka hissed at the purplette. "Nya! What was that for, nya?!"

Sakura, her smile still in place, reinforced, "Like I said, just got done."

Milla twitched an eyebrow. "You… actually made it?"

Sakura nodded proudly with a smile and dipped a spoon into the pot and handed it to Milla. "Well? Is it good?"

Milla tried a sip of the dish and then widened her eyes. "I – It's as good as mine…" She then stiffened and turned red with embarrassed annoyance. "A – Almost."

Sakura smiled proudly. "Thank you."

Milla folded her arms with a huff. "Tch, don't get cocky. It's only _almost_ as good."

Ophis pointed at Milla and, in her usual flat tone, accused, "Tsun-Tsun."

Milla twitched an eyebrow. "Sh – Shut up you little brat!"

Ophis' tiny lips curled up subtly with an amused smirk. "Tsun-Tsun Milla."

Ludger smiled weakly as he tried to break up the ongoing argument. "Come on, come on, let's all just calm down and get something to eat."

"Good. Want to try worm girl's food."

Sakura's entire body stiffened in terror.

Ludger scowled at Ophis. "Ophis! That was rude." He then turned to Sakura with an apologetic smile. "Please ignore what Ophis said. She has a tendency to just say whatever she wants."

Sakura, trembling lightly, responded weakly, "I – It's fine…"

Ludger raised an eyebrow in concern. "Are you okay?"

Sakura forced a smile on her lips and nodded. "Y – Yes, I'm fine. Just a little tired, that's all. If you'll excuse me, I need to wash up before dinner."

Ludger frowned lightly. "Okay. But I think it'd be best for you to see a doctor I know tomorrow. You look a bit pale."

Sakura's eyes widened lightly. "N – No, I'm okay, really, Senpai."

Ludger frowned with suspicion. "You sure? The doctor I know knows how to keep a secret."

Sakura shook her head adamantly. "It's alright. I'm just tired, Senpai."

Ludger's frown deepened. "Sakura…"

"I – If you'll excuse me." She then bowed and made her way to the washroom.

Ludger sighed in frustration.

* * *

As Ludger and the others sat around the table eating the meal Sakura prepared, Ludger smiled appreciatively. "Man Sakura is a good cook."

Milla huffed lightly. "Humph, it's acceptable."

"Delicious!" Maxwell cheered.

Kuroka smiled happily as her tails swayed. "It's really yummy, nya!"

Sakura's face turned bright red from everyone's praise over her food. "Thank you… everyone."

Ludger then turned to Sakura in thought. "Hey, Sakura, I had an idea. Did you ever think of getting a part-time job?"

Sakura shook her head in dismissal. "No, Zouk –, I mean, Father doesn't like for us to get jobs that detract from our time involved with the family's various ceremonies and rituals."

Ludger smiled warmly. "Come on, it will be fun. And you'd get to meet new people."

Sakura frowned unsurely. "I don't know… I'm pretty sure Father's already angry and –"

"Do you really think of that man as your father?" Ludger interrupted with a frown.

Sakura's expression soured lightly. "W – Well, he… is. Zouken Matou is the man who raised me."

"Worm King," Ophis commented, causing Sakura to shiver frightfully.

Ludger frowned in annoyance. "Come on Ophis, stop that."

Ophis took a bite of her biscuit. "Take her to blond booby doctor. She, stripper, and silver stalker can help."

Ludger blinked in confusion. "Help? With what?"

Sakura, becoming frantic, immediately stood from the table. "I – I'll clean up!" However, as she began to grab the empty plates, Ophis grabbed her hand. "… L – Let go…"

"Let them help," Ophis urged, her tone sincerer than normal.

Sakura smiled weakly. "I… I'm fine… really…"

Ophis narrowed her eyes and then grabbed her sleeve with her hand and lifted it up her arm.

Sakura paled in fear. "N – No! Don't!"

"See," Ophis noted to Ludger as she pointed at Sakura's arm. "Worms."

Ludger's eyes widened in horror as he dropped his utensils on the table.

Sakura turned her gaze away from Ludger, ashamed.

Ludger immediately stood and grabbed Sakura's other arm. "We're going to JP's. Now. Caster!"

Caster immediately appeared in a flurry of light. "Right."

"W – Wait!" Sakura argued. "You can't!"

Caster's cloak expanded out and enveloped the group before shrinking into a single spot and vanishing.

* * *

Makoto sighed in frustration as she walked down the hall, carrying a large stack of papers. "Geez, why do they always lump this stuff on me?" Makoto then blinked curiously as the wind picked up in the area, blowing the papers in her grasp across the floor. "No!"

Caster, Ludger, and Sakura then emerged from Caster's teleportation in front of her.

Makoto blinked in bewilderment. "Eh? Geez. You're supposed to use the Terminal for teleportation."

Ludger, sternly, stated, "We don't have time for that."

Makoto's eyes widened as he pulled Sakura's sleeve back. Nodding in understanding, Makoto declared, "I'll get Otome."

* * *

Shortly later, Otome walked into her office where Ludger and the others were waiting. "Makoto told me it's an emergency."

"Yeah," Ludger explained before rolling back Sakura's sleeve, revealing multiple, large, lumps in her skin that squirmed and writhed.

Otome narrowed her eyes. "I need to do an immediate examination."

* * *

Sakura sat with her blouse draped over her shoulders before Otome sighed heavily and turned to Ludger. "I know exactly what's going on here."

"What is it?"

"Crest Worms," Otome said coldly, the phrase causing a reflexive shiver in Sakura.

Ludger frowned in confusion. "What are those?"

Otome sighed. "I'll make this quick. I don't know how it works in your world Ludger, but in ours, magic is passed down from generation to generation through the use of Magic Crests, essentially bundles of magic circuits with the basics of different spells imprinted on them. That way the bearer of that Crest can learn those spells as if they were simply practicing something they already knew. However, some families weren't able to develop normal Crests, so they utilized special worms that feed on mana. These worms infest and nest inside the bodies of humans, and in return grant the host use of the spells they are imprinted with."

Ludger narrowed his eyes with detest. "That's disgusting."

"That's putting it mildly. Basically, these worms are giving Sakura the ability to use certain spells in return for using her body as… well… as a nest."

Sakura trembled as tears fell from her eyes.

Otome smiled and put a hand on Sakura's shoulder. "Don't worry. I'm going to get these things out of you."

Sakura shook her head as tears continued falling. "Y - You can't…" She then proceeded to pull up her other sleeve, showing more of the Crest Worms under her skin.

Otome gasped in shock. "Sakura… just how many of them are there…?"

Sakura's weeping became harder as she trembled. "I – I don't know…"

Otome sighed as she folded her arms. "If they're this densely packed… and all throughout her body then…" She then flinched as her eyes widened.

"What?" Ludger asked with fear.

Otome tightened her hands. "There… there have to be well over four hundred."

Ludger's eyes widened in horror. "Wh – What…?"

"With that many… they'd reproduce faster than we could extract them…"

"I – I told you…" Sakura replied with sobs.

Ludger clenched his teeth with rage. "Dammit…"

Otome narrowed her eyes and then sighed. "There… might be a way to get rid of them."

Sakura stiffened and looked at her in disbelief. "Huh?"

"It's been well over ten thousand years, but before they used the Evil Pieces, there was another way devils used to transform other races into devils. It's a method so ancient and taboo most of the devils alive today haven't even heard of it."

"Then how do you know?" Ludger wondered.

"That's a secret. JP's knows things that even some deities are unaware of."

Sakura remained silent for several moments. "… Wh – What is it?"

Otome sighed lightly. "Admittedly it's simply trading one villain for another. Though, they don't breed and only one lives in a host at a time."

"What are they?" Ludger questioned.

"Magatamas. They're sort of like the biological ancestors to Crest Worms. Essentially, when someone swallows one of these creatures, it alters their biology and turns that person into a devil. Though… the survival rate for the transformation is less than three percent."

Ludger frowned in bewilderment. "Hold on. How would putting this Magatama thing inside Sakura get rid of those Crest Worms?"

Otome smiled wittily and answered, "It will eat them."

"H – Huh…?"

"The Magatama would kill and devour every single Crest Worm. And this just might increase her chance of survival."

Sakura nodded assertively, wiping tears from her eyes. "I'll do it."

"Wait," Ludger interrupted, "are you sure?"

Sakura nodded assuredly. "Yes. Because… at least with this I have the chance of being free of these things."

Otome then grinned playfully. "And you get to spend the next nine thousand years with Ludger."

Sakura, her face turning slightly red, muttered, "H – Huh?"

Otome raised an eyebrow. "You didn't know? Ludger here is a devil now too."

"Wh – What?"

Ludger scratched his head and sighed. "It's a long story…" He then turned to Otome. "Though, how'd you know?"

"I told her," Miyako explained, suddenly right next to Ludger.

"Gah!" Ludger shouted as he jumped from his seat. "Stop that, dammit!"

"Stop what?" Miyako wondered before holding up a jar. "I'm just here to deliver this."

Ludger looked at the jar in thought. "What's that?"

"It's a Magatama," Miyako explained before Ludger saw the long, white, wormlike creature inside.

Ludger frowned in concern. "I see. So Sakura has to… swallow that thing?"

Miyako nodded. "Yup. It should also help heal the damages done by the worms."

Sakura gulped heavily and then turned to Miyako and nodded.

Miyako nodded in return and opened the jar.

Ludger turned blue in disgust. "That thing is creepy…"

Miyako pulled the creature from the jar. "I think it's kinda cute. Now Masakados, time for you to enter a new host."

Ludger raised an eyebrow. "Masakados?"

Sakura then immediately grabbed the creature and swallowed it swiftly.

Ludger flinched in disbelief. "Th – That was fast…"

Sakura's eyes then widened sharply as agony shot through her entire body like lightning.

"Sakura!" Ludger exclaimed as he reached out to her.

Miyako grabbed his hand with hers. "No. Don't touch her. You'll do more harm than good."

Ludger clenched his fists angrily.

Sakura then slumped to the floor, her body spasming before she went still and silent.

"Sakura!" Ludger yelled in fear.

Otome put up a hand. "It's okay. She's still breathing."

Ludger clenched his fists angrily before he watched as several of the bulges in her skin writhed before shrinking and vanishing.

Otome smiled hopefully and turned to Ludger. "It will take time, but in about a day they will all be gone. And she'll want to stay unconscious for it all."

"I see…" Ludger muttered in concern.

Miyako explained, "Let's just say the Crest Worms get… active when they feel threatened. And that can feel rather… painful to the host."

Ludger's face went pale.

Otome put a hand on his shoulder. "But if she's unconscious, she won't feel, or at least won't remember, any of it."

Ludger sighed in relief. "That's good. Now where will we put her?"

"We can put her on one of the beds."

Ludger nodded and picked Sakura from the floor.

* * *

Sakura groaned as she slowly woke up in one of JP's' hospital beds. "Wh – What happened…?"

"You passed out," Otome explained, causing Sakura to turn with surprise. "It happened after you swallowed the Magatama. How do you feel?"

Sakura frowned lightly as she flexed her fingers. "Strange… but better…"

"I'm glad," Ludger noted with a smile. "I'm so glad that it didn't make you worse. You need some good things in your life."

Sakura's eyes widened before she lowered her head as she started trembling.

Ludger tensed as tears started falling from her eyes. "H – Hey! What's wrong?!"

Sakura then gazed at Ludger with a tearful smile. "I don't know… I'm just so happy…"

Ludger blinked in thought and then smiled warmly. Ludger glanced at Otome, who nodded to him, before stepping forward and wrapping his arms around Sakura. "You should always be happy, never sad."

"I'm so happy… so happy…"

Ludger rubbed her back softly. "There, there."

Caster smiled as she looked over the scene. "Shall we return home?"

Ludger nodded. "Yeah." He then turned to Otome and the others. "I'll see the rest of you later."

* * *

"Where were you all night!?" Milla demanded, frustrated.

"At JP's," Ludger deadpanned.

Ophis then raised her arms, as if excited, though her blank expression still in place. "Yay… worm free."

Sakura smiled warmly. "Yes. Yes I am."

"That's wonderful," Maxwell noted with a smile.

Sakura nodded enthusiastically.

"Should train soon though," Ophis remarked.

"Huh?" Sakura mumbled as she turned to Ophis.

"Magatamas grant access to powerful magic. Best to train to help your friends fight Worm King."

Caster turned to Ludger. "How about Rias? Sakura _is_ a devil now."

"Red-haired booby monster lacks Magatama knowledge. Red-haired Siscon might know more. Or ask Magatama itself if you can. Or Silver Stalker."

"Siscon…?" Ludger asked with worry.

Caster huffed lightly. "I meant to train her how to use magic, pest."

Ophis turned to her and was silent for a moment. "Oh. Maybe, Argonaut Slayer."

Ludger blinked in confusion. "Argonaut Slayer?"

"Nothing," Caster retorted. "Nothing at all." She then leaned towards Ophis and hissed in a whisper. "Why'd you say that?!"

Ophis smirked subtly. "Like watching boob monsters squirm."

* * *

The next morning, Ludger and Sakura stood, ready to leave for school.

"Are you sure it'll be safe…?" Sakura asked unsurely.

Ludger put a hand on her shoulder with a reassuring smile. "Of course it will be, Sakura."

Sakura frowned, unconvinced, "But if Shinji's there…"

"I'll punch his face in."

"Freak won't get close," Ophis remarked plainly. "At all. He and Sad Serpent won't be able to do anything anyway."

' _Sad Serpent?_ '

Milla then walked up to the others. "I'm going to need to head to Macaron with Maxwell."

* * *

Ludger sighed as he walked into class.

"That's a rather thick sigh," Aika noted as she walked up to him.

"I had a rather hectic night," Ludger explained, exhausted.

Aika smirked slyly as she put a hand on his shoulder. "How about I ease things a little during lunch, then?"

Ludger smirked back. "I think that sounds like a good idea."

* * *

As promised, Aika and Ludger had lunch together in one of the school's unused classrooms.

However, as they returned to their own classroom, some of the other students noticed as Aika limped lightly while walking to her seat. "Geez…" Aika groaned as she sat with a light shiver.

"You alright?" Ludger asked weakly.

Aika twitched an eyebrow with mild irritation. "You mean aside from my legs feeling like jelly?"

"So… good?"

Aika's frown then turned up with a small smirk. "Naturally."

Ludger nodded with a mildly amused smile. "Good to hear."

* * *

Later that day, Ludger made his way to the Occult Research Club.

"Ah, Ludger," Rias noted as he walked into the room. "You're early."

Ludger nodded in response. "Because I wanted to talk to you about something important."

Rias raised an eyebrow, intrigued. "Is that so? Proceed."

"I need you to help Sakura train in devil magic."

Rias remained silent and blinked in bewilderment. "… I'm thinking there's some context I'm missing."

Ludger sighed as he scratched his head in thought. "For reasons I'd rather keep to myself at the moment, Sakura Matou has become a devil, and I'd appreciate it if you could teach her appropriate magic."

"… Oh…"

Ludger frowned with worry. "Is that a problem?"

However, as the two spoke, Rin entered the room. "Rias, I need to – the hell!?" she shouted when she saw Ludger.

Ludger turned with surprise. "Huh? Rin?"

Rias blinked in thought. "Ah. You've met?"

Rin pointed at Ludger and demanded, "What the hell is he doing here?!"

Ludger huffed lightly. "I could ask you the same thing but not as loud and rude."

Rias raised an eyebrow in confusion. "Is there a problem?"

"Yes!" Rin exclaimed. "He's one of the seven Masters!"

Rias remained silent for a moment, waiting for Rin to continue. "… So? Akeno is too, and you don't have quarrel with her."

"But she's in your Peerage!"

"And so is Ludger."

Rin gaped slightly. "… Eh…?"

Ludger nodded in response. "Yeah. I became her only Pawn after we met during a Stray Devil hunt."

Rin twitched an eyebrow and then sighed heavily. "… Oh you have _got_ to be kidding me!"

Suddenly, Archer appeared in a flurry of light and lunged at Caster, tackling her in a hug. "Medea!" she shouted excitedly.

Caster, or rather, Medea, chuckled lightly and patted Archer's head lightly. "Hey, Atalanta…"

Ludger blinked in confusion. "… Okay, now I'm the one confused."

Medea sighed in exasperation.

Akeno giggled in amusement. "I had no idea you were a Master as well, Ludger."

Ludger shrugged with an entertained smirk. "Learn something new every day I guess." He then raised an eyebrow before turning properly to Akeno. "Wait, then that means you're a Master too."

Akeno nodded in return. "I am. Of Saber."

The doors to Occult Research Club then opened as a figure walked in.

Ludger turned and gulped as he saw a woman with long, golden blonde hair tied up behind her head in a bun, two long bangs hang down, framing her face, her fringe falling just above her piercing, emerald green eyes, her body adorned in silver, scale-like armor that covered her chest, showing a hint of a very generous bosom underneath, large, pointed pauldrons that flowed down to gauntlets over her arms, seemingly made of bright silver scales, a dark blue bodysuit underneath that appeared under the breastplate and left her inner thighs exposed, scant skirt armor also resembling scales, and tall, scale-like, pointed, high-heeled greaves.

"Wow…" Ludger mumbled as he looked over the woman. "Is every Servant female?"

Akeno motioned to the armored woman and explained, "This is my Servant, Saber."

Saber turned to Ludger in curiosity before sighing. "So we have surrounded ourselves with yet more enemies."

Ludger laughed weakly, feeling somewhat put out. "How am I an enemy?"

"Each of the other Servants and Masters are a potential threat."

Akeno giggled weakly. "Please forgive her, she's always so serious."

Ludger shrugged with an understanding smile. "I've dealt with my own kind of serious people too."

Atalanta, still hugging Medea tightly, turned to Saber with a pout. "You're always so mean, Saby."

"It is Saber," the armored woman corrected.

"Saby's cuter though," Atalanta argued.

"I am a knight; I am not cute."

Ludger shrugged lightly. "I don't know, you seem pretty cute to me. Probably even more with your hair down."

Saber looked Ludger over suspiciously. "Noted."

Ludger winced lightly. "I don't know why but that suspicious look hurts."

Rias then raised an eyebrow and turned to Akeno. "Akeno, I was thinking, it'll likely be a few minutes or more until the others arrive, why don't you, Ludger, and Saber restock our kitchen? I'm sure Ludger can help pick some of the best ingredients."

Akeno nodded in understanding. "I can do that."

Ludger then pointed to Saber. "Uh… she's still wearing armor though. Shouldn't she put on something more casual? Or are we going to pretend she's into cosplay?"

Akeno nodded and turned to Saber. "Saber, how about you put on those clothes I bought for you?"

"No," Saber retorted flatly.

"Aaww… come on."

"They provide no protection and leave much of my body exposed."

Ludger turned to Akeno. "I think she doesn't like being comfortable. Or she doubts her own skill at dodging."

"My skills are of perfect quality," Saber retorted. "I am a knight, and as such, must present myself with honor and pride, not adorn the attire of a strumpet."

Ludger frowned in response. "You know that sounds utterly stupid."

Saber sighed in exasperation. "If my armor bothers you so," she was then enveloped in light, that died down to reveal her clad in a simple black suit showing off her curvaceous body much more than the armor, "is this more acceptable?"

Ludger flattened his brow slightly. "It's… interesting. I guess. Though… it doesn't look comfortable or that it gives you a lot of freedom. But if that's what you want to wear, fine."

* * *

Ludger, Akeno, and Saber made their way through a nearby supermarket, looking for various ingredients.

"Hhmm…" Ludger hummed in thought before Akeno picked up a vegetable from a shelf.

"How about this?" she asked as she showed it to Ludger.

Ludger looked at in thought and then nodded. "Looks in good condition. No sign of damage or ripening. Get about eight of them."

* * *

Shortly later, the group left the store, Ludger carrying the various bags the trio had filled.

"You need not carry all of the groceries yourself," Saber noted.

Ludger shook his head in denial. "I'm perfectly capable of carrying them myself. My body's more than capable of doing it."

"I see," Saber noted in thought before suddenly stopping and tensing.

Ludger raised an eyebrow in confusion. "Something wrong?"

Medea suddenly appeared in a flurry of light. "There's a Servant approaching."

Ludger sighed. "Medea, go ahead and take the groceries to the clubroom."

Medea smirked in response. "You remembered my name, how sweet." Her expression then stiffened as she questioned, "Are you certain you can handle him?"

Ludger nodded and handed her the bags. "I'll be fine. I did manage to fight Lancer to a stalemate."

"Very well," Medea replied as she took the bags before vanishing.

The group then turned when a child's laughter filled the air.

"Well… that's creepy…" Ludger remarked. However, he narrowed his eyes as he saw two figures approached.

The first, smaller figure, was a young-looking girl with waist-length, silver hair that was almost white, skin that was as white as snow, and deep red eyes wearing a collared, long-sleeved purple, buttoned shirt with a matching purple scarf, a long white skirt, purple boots, and a tall purple hat.

The second, much larger figure was an armor clad person whose form was not visible as a blood red haze flowed and ebbed around them with Ludger only being able to make out long, curved horns on their helmet, and a long, wide sword on the person's back.

Ludger frowned in thought. "Cute kid with a crimson knight. This will be fun."

Akeno's eyes widened as she looked at the girl. "Wait… you're… that girl…"

"Girl?"

"I saw her the morning before I summoned Saber."

"Ah." Ludger then turned to the girl and her armored comrade. "So, cute kid, you and your crimson friend have a name?"

The girl merely smiled with sadistic excitement.

* * *

 **And this wraps up chapter three of Chromatic Devil. Hopefully everyone enjoyed it. If you did, be sure to post a review letting me know. If you were confused, unsure, or had questions about anything, do not forget to leave them as reviews and I will do my best to address your queries. If you did not like the story... sorry? Post a review if you must, but I would suggest finding something you enjoy instead. At any rate, I have nothing else to add here, so until next time, bye-bye!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter IV**

 **Hello and greetings to my wonderful readers! I have returned with yet another chapter of Chromatic Devil. It has been a little while since the last update, but hopefully not too long for all of you. I hope everyone enjoyed the previous chapter, at least a few of you did it seems. I also hope everyone enjoys this chapter as well, so be sure to post a review if you do. As usual, I would like to thank my coauthor Bakuto Masaki for all of his help so far with this story and others. At any rate, though, we should probably move on to the reviewer responses, hm?**

 **Guest: Of course it's not dead. No story I write is truly ever dead, unless I say it is, though a few may be on life support.**

 **correnhimself316: Who knows, maybe it is? An interesting guess by the way, no one else has ever posited that.**

 **gundam 09: Yes, it is indeed Illya. And who knows, maybe.**

 **Well, that does it for the reviewer responses. Nothing major but still interesting. So with those done, shall we move on to the main event?**

* * *

Ludger, Akeno, and Saber stood on the street, opposite a large, clouded figure and a small, cloaked girl.

Ludger frowned in thought. "Cute kid with a crimson knight. This will be fun."

Akeno's eyes widened as she looked at the girl. "Wait… you're… that girl…"

"Girl?"

"I saw her the morning before I summoned Saber."

"Ah." Ludger then turned to the girl and her armored comrade. "So, cute kid, you and your crimson friend have a name?"

The girl merely smiled with sadistic excitement.

The girl bowed gracefully and introduced herself. "Hello, my name is Illyasviel von Einzbern, but I know that's a long name so you can just call me Illya."

Ludger frowned slightly. "I see. Nice to meet you, I think. My name is Ludger Kresnik."

"Too bad you're here." Illya smiled kindly at the group and pointed to the being behind her. "By the way, this is my Servant, Berserker. Berserker's going to help me with a favor I'd like you all to do for me. So would you all di –" she was interrupted as Ludger threw a lollipop into her mouth.

"Little girls shouldn't say such cruel things. So enjoy that treat and be nice."

Illya pouted but began chewing on the treat.

Berserker slumped slightly.

Saber then stepped between Ludger and Akeno and the other two.

Illya frowned when she heard Berserker start to tense. She looked back at Berserker then to Saber. "I see… well that's fine then." She smiled and pointed at the group and ordered, "Got get 'em Berserker!"

Ludger sighed before his dual blades appeared in his grasp. "Great…"

The mist-clad Servant rushed past Illya and ran straight for Saber.

Saber raised an invisible blade to meet Berserker's, but was caught off-guard by the amount of sheer force it put into its swing.

Illya laughed lightly.

Ludger tightened his fists as Berserker swung its sword at Saber, knocking her back.

' _Curses,_ ' Saber growled as she stumbled down.

Ludger suddenly rushed towards Berserker and blocked its strike from hitting Saber.

Berserker tensed suddenly as it saw Ludger.

"What are you doing?!" Saber demanded.

"Helping you!" Ludger growled as he pushed Berserker back. "What does it look like?!"

"This is my battle, stay out of it."

"Not a chance. This opponent is too strong for you alone."

"This is a battle between Servants."

Ludger twitched an eyebrow but was then knocked aside by Berserker who then charged at Saber. Ludger managed to right himself and charged after it. As he charged, Berserker swung down but Ludger charged and tackled it to the ground. "I'm your opponent!"

Saber swung her hand out, causing her invisible blade to extend out toward Berserker.

However, Berserker swung its sword up, knocking the blade away.

Saber's eyes widened. ' _He countered Excalibur!?_ '

Berserker then swung its sword out, causing the blade to suddenly extend and impale Saber's shoulder.

"Saber!" Akeno shouted.

Ludger growled and charged again. "Enough playing around!"

Berserker kicked back as Ludger rushed at it, causing his watch to get sent flying.

"Dammit!"

Illya watched the small object land in front of her and picked it up curiously. "Ooh, what's this?"

"Hey! Give that back!"

Illya nodded. "I will. _After_ Berserker kills Saber."

"Like I'll let that happen!"

Berserker then swung its blade up, tearing through Saber's shoulder, sending blood in all directions, causing her to howl in agony.

"Saber!" Ludger charged forward, reaching out towards Berserker, causing his arm to become bathed in green light.

Illya's eyes widened. "Wh – What the…?"

Ludger gaped slightly as a large, long, curved blade with a green jewel near the base appeared in his grasp. "Wh – What the hell?"

Berserker then suddenly swung at Saber.

Ludger immediately charged and blocked Berserker's strike with the blade.

Berserker attempted to push Ludger back but he returned with greater force, sending it tumbling back. Ludger then gave his blade a powerful swing, sending a blast of green energy surging out that collided with Berserker and seemed to absorb the haze surrounding it.

As the haze around Berserker cleared, Saber's eyes widened in horror.

Ludger blinked curiously as he saw a young woman with long blonde hair tied into a messy ponytail behind her head, her fringe parted in the center and stopped just above her emerald green eyes, two locks falling down, framing her face, wearing heavy, pointed, silver armor with red accents. "Well that's… new."

Saber frowned deeply. "So… you were brought into this War as well… Mordred."

Berserker, or rather, Mordred, stood and glared at Saber. "Mother… Father…"

Ludger blinked in confusion. "Father?"

Akeno narrowed her eyes in suspicion. ' _A Berserker that is cognizant?_ '

Illya then hissed angrily. "Berserker! We need to leave."

Mordred growled before turning to her. "But she's right there!"

Ludger frowned as he readied his blade once more. "I'm not letting you leave until I get answers!"

Mordred hissed and then grabbed Illya before vanishing.

Saber sighed before clutching her arm in pain. "So… she is here now…"

* * *

Ludger sighed as he sat in the Occult Research Club's room.

"So you met another of the Masters?" Rin questioned.

Ludger nodded. "Yeah. A cute yet creepy girl named Illya. And her Servant is Berserker."

Rin blinked in thought. "Illya?"

"Yeah. Illyasviel von Einzbern."

"Oh great…"

Ludger raised an eyebrow. "You know her?"

Rin shook her head. "I don't know her specifically but I know of her family. They specialize in alchemy and are one of the three Magus Families that always have a participant in the Holy Grail War."

"Three Magus Families?"

"Yes. Tohsaka, Einzbern, and Matou."

Ludger narrowed his eyes. "Matous… that must mean Sakura is involved…"

Rin frowned suspiciously.

Akeno then interjected, "I'm more curious about Illya's Servant."

Ludger raised an eyebrow. "Huh? Oh yeah, Mordred."

"Mordred?" Rin asked with surprise. "You heard its name?"

Ludger frowned slightly and nodded. "Yeah. And heard _her_ voice."

Rin folded her arms in thought. "I see. Did Illya tell it to you?"

Ludger shook his head. "No. Saber recognized her."

"Really?"

Ludger nodded and then turned to Akeno. "Akeno, who exactly is Saber?"

Akeno turned and answered, "She's –"

Rin interrupted, "Don't answer that."

"Huh?" Ludger mumbled.

Rin continued, "You shouldn't reveal the identity of your Servant to your enemies, it –"

"Ludger isn't my enemy," Akeno interrupted with a cold glare.

Rin sighed in annoyance. "I don't care what Rias says, you're both my enemies, we're both your enemies, and you and I are his enemies."

Ludger frowned incredulously. "You really think that?"

Rin shook her head. "It doesn't matter what I think. The Masters and their Servants are enemies and are destined to fight each other. If you try to oppose that then you'll just end up dead."

Akeno frowned with frustration.

Ludger sighed and questioned, "And who's going to kill me? Akeno is a friend and so are you. Unless of course you value friendship so little."

Rin sighed. "Friendship won't win the Holy Grail War."

"To me it's more valuable than power. After all, what's the point in having it if you have no one to protect?"

Rin sighed in frustration. "This is pointless. The point of the Holy Grail War is to access the Root, not protect people. Once the Root's accessed the division between people will vanish."

Ludger narrowed his eyes suspiciously. "What?"

"If you don't even know what the Root is then this conversation is pointless."

"I don't need to know what it is to know it sounds bad to access.

Rin huffed in annoyance and then walked out of the room in frustration.

Akeno sighed heavily and then turned to Ludger. "Sorry about that, Lu."

Ludger shook his head. "It's okay Akeno. Rin just needs to get her priorities straight."

Akeno nodded heavily. "Yeah. Anyway, you asked who Saber is. She's Arturia Pendragon, better known as 'King' Arthur."

Ludger raised an eyebrow. "And that is… who?"

"The 'king' of England almost a thousand years ago."

"… I see… Then I guess Mordred was one of her soldiers."

Saber, or rather Arturia, now healed and back into her armor, walked into the room and argued, "No. She was my daughter."

Ludger flinched and then suddenly turned to her. "Your what? And should you be up already?"

Arturia pulled down the side of her armor, exposing one of her orbs to his gaze, seemingly without concern. "I am fully healed."

Ludger's face reddened as she covered herself. "I – I – I see…"

Akeno giggled in amusement.

Arturia continued, "And as I said, she is my daughter."

"I see…" Ludger mumbled in thought. "Though… why'd she call me her father?"

"You greatly resemble her father, Hyperion." She then turned to Akeno. "Also, Akeno, I would have preferred you speak with me before revealing my identity."

Akeno tilted her head. "Oh? Should I have not?"

Arturia shook her head. "It is fine, I simply wish to be notified next time you give out my secrets."

Akeno frowned slightly. "I see."

Rias then walked into the room. "Ludger, do you have a moment?"

Ludger turned to her in thought. "Hhmm? Sure Rias. What is it?"

"I've got a little more requests in than the others can handle. Think you can take one?"

Ludger raised an eyebrow in surprise. "Already? Are you sure?"

Rias nodded in response. "Yes, I am."

Ludger shrugged in response. "Sure, I can do it."

Rias smiled happily. "Great!"

* * *

After night had fallen over the sky, Ludger stood in front of a small, light grey suburban house. "So… so I guess… this is the place. Huh… Well, better see the Contractor." He then knocked on the door lightly.

The door to the house then opened, revealing a teenage-looking girl with long, straight red hair, her parted fringe ending just above her light grey eyes, two long bangs framing her face, ending over her moderate bust, wearing a white, fluffy hat, a white scarf around her neck, flowing down her back, a black, long-sleeved blouse, a black, pleated skirt, black stockings, and brown shoes. "Hello?" she asked curiously.

Ludger blinked in thought as he looked over the girl. "Uh… did you summon me?"

The girl raised an eyebrow as she looked at Ludger. "Um… are you a devil?"

Ludger nodded in reply. "Yeah, I am."

"I see… I guess I did… I thought you devils were supposed to pop out from magical circle things."

Ludger sighed with frustration. "I know. I kinda have bad luck with teleporting…"

The redhead blinked in thought as she looked around uncomfortably. "I see… well, come in… I guess."

"Right. Thank you… uumm…"

The girl blinked and then turned red in realization. "O – Oh! I'm Airi Ban."

Ludger nodded with a small smile. "Right. I'm Ludger Kresnik."

"Okay, Kresnik."

* * *

Ludger sat with a flat expression of disbelief as he sat at a long table across from Airi. "You want me to what?"

Airi grumbled lightly. "To get me a piano and keep it fixed."

Ludger frowned in confusion. "Uh… sure. I guess I can do that. Why don't you just buy one?"

Airi's expression fell somberly. "My family can't afford one."

Ludger blinked in thought and then smiled. "You want to play the piano that badly, huh?"

Airi shook her head. "I… don't want to _just_ play the piano. I want to become a Concert Pianist."

Ludger nodded in understanding. "Okay, I'll see what I can find. Any specifics?"

Airi instantly handed him a piece of torn paper with a picture of a large piano on it. "That one."

Ludger looked at the image in thought and then saw that the price was twenty million yen. Paling, he mumbled, "I – I see…" ' _Holy shit that's a lot!_ '

Airi frowned slightly in concern. "Can you get it?"

Ludger stowed the paper and sighed softly. "I'll do my best." ' _I am so going to be in debt… again…_ ' "Now it's your turn, I believe."

Airi tilted her head in confusion and then perked up in realization. "Oh right. Uumm… Uh… what do you… want?"

Ludger put a hand on his chin in thought. "Hhmm…"

Airi slumped in her seat sourly. "I don't have money to give you…"

Ludger then looked back at her. "How about your friendship?"

Airi stiffened in surprise and gazed at him in bewilderment. "H – Huh…?"

"Your friendship," he reiterated.

"Uh… sure."

Ludger smiled and rubbed her head softly. "Good."

Airi frowned as her cheeks reddened and swatted his hand away. "H – Hey! Don't treat me like some little kid! I am fifteen you know!"

"… Eh?" he muttered in surprise.

Twitching an eyebrow, Airi asked pointedly, "And what's with that 'eh'?"

Ludger began sweating heavily. "U – Uh… nothing…"

"It didn't sound like nothing!" she retorted, annoyed.

"Uh… I think I need to go…"

* * *

Ludger sighed as he walked away from Airi's house. "Well that ended rather messily." As he continued down the pavement he noticed several black feathers floating from the sky. "Oh boy…" His eyes then traveled up before he saw a tall and buxom woman with long, navy blue hair that covered her right eye, both eyes being brown, who wore a violet, trench coat-like top with a wide collar, revealing much of her cleavage, a matching miniskirt, and high-heeled shoes floating in the air with large, black, feathered wings.

The woman then descended from the sky and landed in front of him.

Ludger gulped and then sighed. "Please tell me you're not here to fight."

"I'm not," she answered curtly.

Ludger sighed in relief. "Oh, go –"

"I'm here to kill you."

"Dammit! Can you at least tell me why?"

Narrowing her eyes, the fallen angel explained, "Whatever it is you've done to Raynare. I, Kalawarner, will punish you for it."

Ludger remained silent in consternation. "… Hah? I said I was sorry our date went south!"

Kalawarner growled as a large spear made of yellow energy appeared in her grasp. "She's different because of you, so now I'll get rid of the problem!" She then threw the spear at Ludger.

Ludger dashed to the side to avoid the spear and then reached for his pocket watch but then paled as he realized it was gone. "… Fuck! That little girl still has it! Dammit!" Ludger took a breath and then frowned. "Okay Kresnik, keep your cool. You can beat her without the Chromatus."

Kalawarner created two blades of energy in her hands and then sent them flying at Ludger.

Ludger ducked under the flying weapons and charged at Kalawarner, his dual blades appearing in his grasp in a flash of light.

Kalawarner summoned two more light spears and charged at Ludger, their weapons locking as they clashed. She then narrowed her eyes and extended one of her wings out and smacked Ludger with it, knocking him back. "Now you die!" Kalawarner threatened as she raised her blade.

Ludger extended a hand to try and block her attack but his hand was then enveloped in light once more before the silver blade he had wielded reappeared in his grasp. Acting instantly, he swung the sword, knocking Kalawarner's spear away.

"What the hell?"

"Again?!" Ludger shouted in bewilderment.

' _Yes. Again,_ ' a voice spoke to Ludger.

Ludger looked around in confusion and shock. "H – Huh?! Who said that?!"

' _Me,_ ' the voice reiterated.

"Pay attention!" Kalawarner growled before throwing more spears.

' _Block!_ ' the voice shouted, causing Ludger to instantly raise his blade, a wall of energy appearing in front of him that stopped Kalawarner's attacks. "Wh – Whoa…"

Kalawarner hissed angrily. "What the hell kind of weapon is that?!"

"How the hell would I know?!"

Kalawarner snarled and then splayed her arms out, causing four light spears to appear in the air. "Then I'll just throw more than you can counter!"

Ludger growled. "Oh come on! Can't we just talk about this and _not_ kill one another?!"

"I won't all –!"

"Stop!" a new voice hollered. Ludger and Kalawarner both turned to see Raynare nearby.

Ludger's eyes widened in surprise. "Yuuma?"

Kalawarner hissed in anger. "Don't call her that, human!"

"It's the name she told me!"

Before the argument could continue further, Raynare threw a large light spear that landed between the two. "Both of you, stop! Understood?!"

Kalawarner narrowed her eyes and then sighed in defeat. "… Yes, Sister."

Ludger blinked in confusion and then looked between the two before gaping. "Eehh!? S – Sister!?"

Raynare nodded. "She is."

Kalawarner growled and then pointed at Ludger angrily. "Why?! Why are you so obsessed with this human!?"

"He's a Kresnik," Raynare explained simply.

Kalawarner stiffened and then frowned. "That's impossible. They died out eons ago."

"He has the Chromatus."

Kalawarner paled in disbelief. "Wh – What…? B – But that means…"

Raynare nodded. "It does."

Ludger waved a hand. "Uuhh… hello? Kresnik in the dark here…"

Kalawarner frowned and turned to Raynare. "Why hasn't he used his Chromatus?"

"An annoying little girl stole my pocketwatch."

"I see," Raynare noted in thought.

"Yeah. If not for that I would have used it from the start. Though… why are Kresniks so special?"

Kalawarner twitched an eyebrow. "… Seriously?"

"Uh… yes?"

Raynare merely chuckled lightly.

Ludger turned to her curiously. "Huh?"

"No one ever told you?" Raynare asked.

Ludger blinked in bewilderment. "Guess not?"

Kalawarner huffed in annoyance. "Do you actually believe this fool is a Kresnik?"

Raynare merely grinned.

"H – Huh?" Ludger mumbled.

"He knows Chronos," Raynare explained.

Kalawarner's eyes widened. "WHAT!? Are you certain?!"

Ludger nodded, annoyed. "Yeah, I met the creep. Even fought him."

Kalawarner frowned suspiciously. "And you survived…?"

Ludger merely nodded.

Raynare folded her arms and then turned to Kalawarner. "Well?"

Kalawarner sighed heavily. "… Lord Azazel would want him on our side."

Raynare smirked victoriously. "Truly."

"Very well."

Ludger then raised a hand and questioned, "Who's Lord Babybell?"

"Azazel," Raynare corrected slightly annoyed.

"Right. Who is he?"

"The leader of the fallen angels," Kalawarner explained.

"… Ah."

Raynare turned to Kalawarner. "So how about you stop trying to kill him?"

Kalawarner sighed. "Fine…"

Ludger scratched his head in thought. "So… what're you going to do now?"

Kalawarner pointed at Ludger. "We could capture him."

Ludger started backing away slowly. "Can we not go that route? I like my freedom. Please?"

Raynare then smirked slyly. "How about something more… proactive?"

Ludger blinked in thought. "… Eh…?"

"How about we make… alliance?"

"What?!" Kalawarner and Ludger shouted in shock.

In the bushes nearby, Miyako hood, glaring at Raynare.

Ludger blinked in thought. "Uh, sure."

Raynare's smirk widened before she walked over to him slowly, her hips swaying with her gait.

Ludger blinked in confusion. "Uuhh…"

Raynare then approached him and began closing her face towards his before Miyako suddenly emerged from the bushes, glowering darkly.

The others all turned in shock as Miyako demanded coldly, "What are you doing?"

Ludger backed up and stiffened in surprise. "M – Miyako?! Wh – Why are you here?"

"Answer me," she urged adamantly.

Ludger trembled. "I – I – I…"

Raynare hissed in irritation. "Tch, damn Hero Tribe."

"Harridan," Miyako cursed.

Raynare growled once more before Ludger stepped between them. "Hey! Cut it out! She just wants an alliance! What's so wrong with that?"

Miyako sighed. "Do you know what she means by that?"

"Uuhh… to be allies?"

"To be a couple," Miyako corrected bluntly.

Ludger stiffened. "… Hah!?"

"You didn't know!?" Kalawarner asked in disbelief.

"No!"

Kalawarner groaned in annoyance and Raynare pouted slightly.

Ludger furrowed his brow in confusion and Miyako sighed in annoyance.

' _Seems she still loves you,_ ' a voice said to Ludger.

Ludger looked around in bewilderment. "Huh? Who is that?"

Miyako frowned in consternation.

The voice spoke again, ' _I did, in your mind._ '

Ludger sighed heavily. "Oh great… I'm going crazy…"

' _Maybe. I'm Brunhilde, your sword,_ ' the voice, Brunhilde, explained.

"Oh great a talking sword…"

Miyako furrowed her brow in thought. ' _He can speak with Brunhilde?_ '

"I really have lost it," Ludger lamented.

Miyako shook her head. "No, you've not, entirely."

Ludger turned to her in confusion and surprise. "Eh?"

Miyako explained, "That sword has the soul of the Valkyrie Brunhilde sealed inside."

Ludger blinked in disbelief. "… Hah?"

"You heard me," Miyako urged.

"… How'd I get it…?"

"You sealed her into yourself subconsciously."

Ludger raised an eyebrow. "When? Wait, how do you know that…?"

Kalawarner aimed one of her light spears at Ludger. "Just what are you?"

"He's Ludger," Miyako answered bluntly.

Suddenly, Dohnaseek landed near the group. "Mind telling me what's taking so long?"

"Oh great," Ludger grumbled as he saw the blue-haired man.

Dohnaseek sneered at Ludger and then turned to Raynare and Kalawarner. "Is it so hard for you to kill one human?"

Raynare argued, "He has a higher priority than to kill."

Dohnaseek huffed in annoyance. "That is not your decision to make." He then formed a light spear in his grasp. "If you won't do it, I will."

Raynare folded her arms in defiance. "Try it. See how Azazel will feel when he hears you killed a Kresnik."

"You can't kill something that doesn't exist."

"Geez…" Ludger groaned.

Miyako narrowed her eyes. "You try and kill him you'll have _me_ to deal with."

Dohnaseek sighed in annoyance. "I should have expected this. So be it, traitors. I'll kill you all."

"No," Miyako argued coldly.

Dohnaseek narrowed his eyes. "I don't care if you are the Hero Tribe's Matriarch, none will stand in my way!" More than twenty light spears then appeared in the air around him.

Miyako then pulled her whip from her side and lashed out with it, destroying all of his light spears.

Dohnaseek stiffened in surprise and then hissed angrily.

Miyako narrowed her eyes and threatened, "Flee now and I won't end you."

Dohnaseek growled. "You will regret this, Hero Tribe." He then vanished from sight.

After he vanished, Miyako hummed in thought and then glanced at Raynare and Kalawarner.

Kalawarner groaned in annoyance. "Great, now what?"

Raynare sighed in frustration.

Ludger frowned in consternation.

Miyako saw the expression on Ludger's face and sighed. "You're going to have them under your protection. Aren't you."

Ludger merely nodded.

Raynare blinked in bewilderment.

Miyako sighed. "I will get someone to act as extra security at your house to help keep an eye on them."

Ludger shook his head. "That won't be needed." He then stiffened in realization, "Wait, what?"

"What?" Miyako asked in thought.

"'Extra' security?"

Miyako nodded in response. "Yes."

Ludger frowned in thought. "So then… you've already got people watching me?"

Miyako shook her head. "No. I was referring to your live-ins as Security." ' _And the several cameras I had Fumi put in your house._ '

Ludger blinked in confusion. "Uh… whatever. Yu – Raynare and Kalawarner aren't a threat. If they try to be I can deal with it."

Miyako shook her head. "I insist on sending one agent to help keep an eye on these har – er, these two Fallen."

Brunhilde then urged, ' _Do it. She won't back down on this when it concerns you if memory recalls._ '

Ludger furrowed his brow. "How would you know?"

' _Just think your responses, I can hear them. Makes you seem less crazy. And how I know is simple. I've been part of you since near the beginning. So I know how your favorite stalker acts._ '

Ludger frowned in annoyance.

Miyako sighed and then urged, "Let's take this elsewhere."

* * *

Ludger and the others returned to his apartment where they found Milla awaiting them, angrily.

Milla folded her arms and demanded, "You'd better have a good explanation."

"Honestly?" Ludger began. "I am too kind for my own good."

Milla sighed heavily. "I can't argue with that…"

"Indeed," Maxwell agreed.

"Too nice," Ophis muttered before turning to Raynare and Kalawarner. "Way too nice."

Kalawarner twitched an eyebrow. "What's with the mouthy toddler?"

"She's Ophis," Miyako explained bluntly.

Kalawarner and Raynare paled.

"O – Oh shit…" Kalawarner cursed in horror.

Ophis frowned in confusion and turned to Miyako. "Why is everyone always scared?"

Miyako answered plainly, "Most believe stories and myths made up about you."

"Dummies," Ophis chided plainly.

"Yup, nya!" Kuroka agreed.

Raynare and Kalawarner remained silent in disbelief.

Sakura moaned in worry. "Erm… who wants dinner?"

"Me, nya!" Kuroka cheered.

Ophis raised her hand silently.

* * *

As Sakura prepared dinner, Ludger sighed as he sat in the lounge.

Maxwell turned to him and asked, "Something wrong?"

"A lot…" Ludger mumbled.

"Like what?"

"Like how the hell I have a talking sword."

"Talking sword?" Medea wondered.

Ludger nodded. "Yeah." He then summoned Brunhilde once more. "Miyako knew about her though."

Maxwell narrowed her eyes. "That woman knows far more than she shares."

"Yeah… I'll need to talk with Miyako. Find out how she knows things about me that I don't."

"She's also very creepy," Kalawarner noted.

Kuroka then chimed in, "Well she has been stalking Lu-Nya for a long time, nya. 'Til he vanished, nya."

Ludger suddenly turned to her in confusion. "What'd you say?"

Kuroka raised an eyebrow. "She stalked you silently all the time in the Hero Village, nya."

Ludger furrowed his brow. "Hero Village? What's that?"

Ophis then chimed in, "Home of descendants of ancient warriors. Many Sacred Gear wielders there."

"I see. But I've never been there."

Kuroka shook her head. "You have though, nya. You lived there with your mom, nya."

Miyako then suddenly appeared behind Ludger. "Guess there's no choice."

"Gah!" Ludger shouted. "Stop doing that!"

Miyako hummed in thought.

Kuroka snickered in amusement.

Milla twitched an eyebrow. "You're back?"

"I never left."

"… What do you want?"

Miyako folded her arms and sighed. "Personally I was hoping to have a little more time to properly explain this, but I suppose I've delayed long enough."

"Why wait?" Ludger asked.

"… I was hoping you'd remember on your own. Or that Kuroka could help hasten the process."

"Okay… and explain what?" Ludger asked in confusion.

"Ludger, I'm going to presume you believe you grew up in the Prime Dimension, correct?" Miyako asked.

Ludger nodded. "Yeah. I… think so… to be honest I can only remember back about five years."

"That's not terribly surprising. But, I'll get the most pertinent piece of information out of the way. You were not born in the Prime Dimension. You were born and raised in this dimension, this… Fractured Dimension, as you are wont to call it."

Ludger's eyes widened. "Wh – What…? That's crazy."

"Your mother came here, running from someone she believed would try and use your Chromatus as a tool. So she came to the one dimension that only those whose blood is directly related to the first Kresnik."

"Where…?" Ludger asked in confusion.

"This place. This dimension. Created by the original Kresnik, Milla Kresnik."

Ludger, Milla, and Maxwell then exclaimed, "What!?"

Miyako blinked curiously. "What did I say?"

Ludger rebutted, "You can't be serious! I was always told that the original Kresnik was a man."

Ophis twitched an eyebrow. "Mi-Mi would be pissed to hear that…"

Miyako sighed. "Why am I not surprised? Well, that's not important."

Ludger sighed and folded his arms in thought. "So… are you saying this dimension was created by the original Kresnik?"

Miyako nodded. "Yes, created by her, what was the term…? Ah, yes, Divergence Catalyst."

Ludger raised both eyebrows in confusion. "What do you mean by that?"

Miyako shrugged. "I mean exactly what I said. This Fractured Dimension was created by her Divergence Catalyst."

"How? I thought the Divergence Catalysts were –"

"You don't know anything, do you?" Miyako interrupted in annoyance. "After all, if you did you'd know they are Chromatus users who have overused their power."

Ludger paled. "Wh – What…?"

Miyako sighed and explained, "The Chromatus is a gift and a curse at the same time."

Ludger looked down solemnly. "Yeah… with how it can end countless lives…"

"I'm not referring to just that."

"Huh?"

"The Chromatus' power isn't free. It requires a cost to use. A terrible one. One that, for some reason, you don't seem to be paying."

"What is it?"

"They become a Divergence Catalyst."

Ludger paled. "… What…?"

Miyako continued, "Every time a Kresnik uses Chromatus, their body decays. And if that decay spreads throughout their entire body, they'll transform into a Divergence Catalyst and become the core for a new dimension. But you have not developed any such symptoms."

Ludger began trembling, Milla frowning in worry as she watched. "But then…" he mumbled, "that means… the Divergence Catalysts are…"

Miyako nodded. "Yes. They are all living beings. Or at least were."

Ludger suddenly put a hand over his mouth to prevent himself from vomiting.

"Unbelievable…" Maxwell uttered in shock. "Though, how do you know all of this?"

Miyako explained, "The first Hotsuin was close to Milla Kresnik."

Ludger took several deep breaths.

Kuroka frowned with worry. "Are you okay, nya?"

Ludger nodded slowly. "Y – Yeah… Okay, so you're saying… that this dimension was created after the original Kresnik used her Chromatus too much… and that I was born in this dimension?"

Ophis argued, "Mi-Mi didn't overuse it. This dimension was made after betrayal."

Ludger turned to her in confusion. "Huh?"

Miyako put up a hand. "Story for another time. But yes, you were born and raised in this dimension."

Ludger narrowed his eyes. "That's… hard to believe. Do you have pro –?"

Miyako interrupted him by pulling a photograph out of her pocket and handing it to him. "Is this enough? If not, Brunhilde should be."

Ludger took the photo and looked at it curiously before his eyes shot wide.

Milla frowned with concern. "Ludger?"

Ludger wordlessly handed her the photo.

Milla raised an eyebrow and looked at the photo and saw a young Ludger standing with a younger Miyako, Akeno, Rias, and Sona. "… Eh?! Wh – What the hell?!"

Maxwell looked at the image in thought. "Hhmm? Who are the girls in this?"

"Rias and the others," Ludger answered, still stunned. "Meaning… they all knew me…"

Milla groaned as she ran a hand through her hair. "You've gotta be kidding me…"

Miyako shook her head. "I'm not."

"Then it looks like they owe us some answers."

Ludger shook his head. "No. Not yet. I… need to process all of this…"

Miyako nodded in understanding as she stood. "Then I'll leave you to it. The agent I have picked for extra security will start living here tomorrow."

"… Right…"

"Good to hear."

* * *

The next morning, Ludger sighed as he made his way to school. "Man… what a hectic week." As he looked around, he frowned in thought. ' _I'm already late… maybe I should take a shortcut. Yeah. That sounds good._ '

Cutting through a nearby park, Ludger stopped when he heard the low creak of a metal swing.

He turned to the sighed and muttered in thought before he saw a figure sitting on the swing. Focusing, he saw an attractive, young-looking woman with short blonde hair, several bangs framing her face along with a single cowlick atop her head, deep red eyes and fair skin wearing a white, long-sleeved turtleneck that did little to hide her considerable bust, a shin-length, dark purple skirt, black stockings and flat-bottom black shoes. "Huh…?"

The woman glanced to him thoughtfully. "Hm?"

Ludger blinked in consternation. "Uumm… hi?"

"Hello," the woman answered plainly.

"Uumm…" Ludger muttered. "Well this… is awkward…"

' _Very,_ ' Brunhilde mumbled.

"So who might you be?" the blonde asked.

Ludger blinked in thought. "Um, Ludger. Ludger Kresnik."

"Nice name."

"Uh, thanks, Miss…"

Nodding, the blonde answered, "Arcueid Brunestud."

"Nice to meet you, Arcueid. So…" Ludger then leaned to the side on a tree but slipped, causing a branch to catch him on the arm. "Gah!"

Arcueid immediately stood and rushed to him. "Oh no, are you hurt?!"

"Y – Yeah, I'm fine. Just a light cut."

"Are you su –?" Arcueid began but stiffened as she saw blood running down his arm.

' _Uh-oh…_ ' Brunhilde mumbled.

Ludger looked at Arcueid, confused. "Uh, you ok –?"

However, before he could finish his sentence, Arcueid bit his neck, firmly, sinking her teeth into his flesh.

Ludger's eyes widened in surprise and pain. "Wh – What the…?!"

Arcueid's eyes then widened and she backed up suddenly, her eyes widened in horror.

"Ow! What the hell?! Why'd you bite me!?"

She put a hand over her mouth in terror before suddenly running away.

Ludger blinked in bewilderment as she ran. "Well that… was weird…"

' _You don't know the half of it,_ ' Brunhilde commented.

"I see…"

* * *

Ludger took another sigh as he sat in his seat. "Such a weird day…"

"You seem tense," Aika noted in thought.

"You have no idea…"

At that moment, Taiga then walked into the room. "Alright, everybody! We've got some new students!"

Ludger raised an eyebrow in thought. "New?"

Suddenly, two figures walked into the room.

The first was a beautiful young woman with long, flowing red hair, two pieces tied in pigtails with black ribbons, her bangs hanging down, framing her face, and her fringe ended just between her dark pink eyes, wearing the female Kuoh academy uniform without the mantle.

The second was a young woman with a slim build, albeit with a sizable bust, with short, chin-length, light blue hair, with her fringe stopping just above her amber eyes, one lock hung in a braid over her left shoulder, wearing the female Kuoh uniform.

Ludger gaped slightly. "Whoa…"

The red-haired girl glared at the bluenette, whom remained stoic.

Ludger raised an eyebrow in thought.

The redhead then introduced, "I'm Mio Naruse."

The bluenette then said plainly, "I am Yuki Nonaka."

"Huh…" Ludger mumbled.

Taiga frowned in disappointment. "Okay… just sit wherever you like."

Yuki then immediately stepped forward and sat in the open seat next to Ludger.

Ludger blinked in confusion. "… Eh…?"

"I'll sit here," Yuki stated plainly.

Taiga nodded in understanding. "Okay."

Mio then sat behind Ludger.

Ludger blinked in confusion and Aika huffed in annoyance.

* * *

Later, Ludger made his way down a hallway when Yuki stepped in front of him. Ludger blinked in thought. "Uumm… can I help you…?"

"Ludger," Yuki said plainly.

Ludger blinked in thought. "You… know my name."

Yuki frowned in disappointment.

"Ah, you probably work for Miyako, don't you?"

"I am of the Hero Tribe."

"So you do."

Frowning, Yuki muttered, "I guess you don't remember."

Ludger twitched an eyebrow. "… Just how many friends do I have…?"

"Many," Yuki answered plainly.

Ludger sighed in frustration. "… Great…"

Yuki then put a hand on his arm softly.

"Huh?"

"You don't…" she lamented.

Ludger sighed regretfully. "No. I don't remember."

Yuki then smile softly at Ludger. "You're still you."

"Eh?"

Akeno then walked up to the duo, somewhat irritated. "What exactly is it you're doing?"

Yuki suddenly stiffened as she approached.

Ludger turned to her in surprise. "Oh, hey, Akeno. What brings you here?"

"I was actually looking for you," Akeno explained.

"Oh?"

Akeno then grabbed his other arm with a sweet smile. "How about lunch?"

Yuki twitched an eyebrow in irritation. "Me."

"Huh?" Ludger mumbled.

Akeno frowned. "You'll have lunch with me right?" Akeno asked before tightening her grip on Ludger's arm.

Yuki did the same as she insisted, "Me."

Ludger winced lightly. "U – Uuhh… wh – why don't I eat with you both?"

The duo turned to him in disbelief.

"Wh – What…?"

Both sighed heavily.

"Seriously, what?!"

Yuki smiled softly and turned to Akeno. "Still Ludger…"

"Truly…" Akeno agreed with a small smile.

* * *

Ludger sighed as he sat in the Occult Research Club's room. "Geez…"

Rias then walked into the room and saw him. "Well it seems your last request went well."

"Yeah…"

"Do you think you can do another?" Rias asked as she sat at her desk.

"As long as it doesn't cost twenty million yen…"

Rias raised an eyebrow. "Huh?"

"I had to spend twenty mil to get her a piano…"

"I see. Ready for the request?"

"Yeah."

"Then let's get ready."

* * *

"Geez…" Ludger groaned as he stood in front of a small, unlit house. "Well this house is sufficiently creepy. And setting off every danger sense I have."

' _I agree,_ ' Brunhilde added.

"Well… better go in…" Walking up to the house, Ludger rang the doorbell several times and waited. With no response, Ludger readied one of his swords and turned the handle, the door swinging open effortlessly. ' _It's been kicked in._ ' Noticing that fact, he then readied one of his pistols in his other hand. Seeing a flickering light down the hall, Ludger pressed himself against the wall and slowly moved towards the entrance. Leaning around the corner, he paled as he saw large quantities of blood on the floor and several bodies cut into pieces.

Brunhilde gasped in Ludger's mind.

"Well this isn't good…" Ludger stiffened as he felt a familiar, cold, metallic sensation against the back of his head. The barrel of a gun. ' _This isn't good._ '

"Well what the fuck do we have here?" a manic voice asked excitedly behind Ludger. "If it isn't a shitty devil!" The man then pressed his gun against Ludger's head firmer as Ludger attempted to look behind him. "Don't even think about it."

Ludger then smirked slightly, his expression unseen by his assailant. ' _This jerk's way too confident._ '

"So why don't you tell me your shitty name before I blow your head to pieces?"

"I don't tell my name to dead men." He then swiftly ducked down and kicked his leg back, knocking his would-be assailant on his back, and saw that he was a young man with short silver hair and crazed red eyes wearing clerical clothing.

"The fuck!?" the silver-haired man shouted.

Ludger quickly turned and aimed his gun at the man.

However, the man kicked up suddenly, knocking Ludger's gun from his hand, before standing. "You've got some spunk! You'll be the first devil I've killed that's put up a good fight!"

Ludger narrowed his eyes angrily. "Just who the hell are you?"

"The name's Freed Sellzen!"

"I'll be sure to put that on your grave."

"We'll see about that!" Freed cackled before firing a shot at Ludger.

Ludger deftly deflected the shots with his sword before summoning another of his swords and dashing at Freed.

"Whoa!" Freed shouted, jumping back to dodge Ludger's swing before firing again.

Ludger leapt over Freed's shot and then swung his blades down. "Azure Edge!" he shouted as his blades lit up with light, carving a gash in Freed's chest. "Time to die asshole."

Both Freed and Ludger were then distracted by a loud, gasping shriek.

Ludger stiffened and then turned to see Asia standing nearby.

Freed hissed angrily. "You stupid bitch! You're supposed to be maintaining the barrier!"

Asia, trembling, argued, "B – But I heard gunshots and shouting and…" Her eyes then glanced to the side as she saw Ludger and widened her eyes. "L – Ludger…?"

"Asia…?" Ludger asked in horror and disbelief.

Freed raised an eyebrow in irritation. "You know this shitty devil?"

' _Does this guy ever stop swearing?_ '

Freed then grinned darkly and suddenly dashed past Ludger, grabbing Asia by the neck before putting his pistol to her head.

"Asia!" Ludger shouted before growling.

"Ah, ah, ah," Freed snickered. "Don't take a step or the pretty nun gains a new blow hole."

Ludger growled, enraged. "Let her go, coward!"

"Like I'd do that!"

"She has nothing to do with this! It's just me and you asshole!"

"Do you actually care about her?!" Freed then laughed maniacally. "A devil and a nun! How perfect!"

Ludger growled and demanded, "I said leave her out of this, coward!"

"Call me a coward all you like, but that won't matter when you're dead and I'm purifying this nun of those immoral feelings!"

Ludger growled as his hand twitched before he was suddenly shot in the leg.

Freed cackled as Ludger fell to one knee, only to shoot his shoulder. "Bet that burns, you shitty devil!"

Asia paled in fear. "No! Stop!"

Freed growled and stuck a finger in her mouth. "Shut it!"

Asia trembled for a moment and then suddenly bit down on his finger.

Freed howled and stumbled back in pain. "Ffuucckk! You little cu –!" Freed was interrupted as the blade of a sword suddenly pierced his abdomen and immediately slashed up, back down, and then across his midsection. Spitting up blood, Freed stumbled forward before collapsing into four pieces.

Asia slowly turned to where Freed's carved body lay and saw Miyako with a cold, emotionless expression that caused the blonde's blood to freeze.

Miyako then stated with a cold, even tone, "Trash that dare harm Ludger will suffer as they die."

Asia trembled in fear before Miyako's expression returned to the same false smile as usual.

"You needn't be afraid. Unless you tried to hurt Ludger."

Asia silently and vigorously shook her head.

"Good to hear." Miyako then walked over to Ludger.

"M – Miyako…? Wh – Why are you here…?"

Miyako explained, "To keep you safe when I realized you were in danger."

"U – Um…" Asia then piped up, "is it okay if I heal him?"

"… Su –" Miyako began before a nearby wall exploded.

"Oh what now…?" Ludger groaned.

Dohnaseek and Lancer then walked into the building.

Ludger twitched an eyebrow. "… Oh shit."

Miyako clenched her fists before Lancer looked at Ludger.

' _So…_ ' Lancer thought, ' _he has been…_ '

Dohnaseek growled. "So even that fool couldn't kill you. Do I have to do everything myself?"

Miyako narrowed her eyes. "Ludger, time to leave."

Ludger nodded in agreement. "I'll grab Asia."

"Like I'll let you!" Dohnaseek growled before Ludger summoned a pistol.

Miyako urged, "Ludger, we have to go."

Ludger then tried to stand but Miyako grabbed him along with Freed's weapons. "No, Asia!" Ludger shouted as Miyako fled.

* * *

Ludger laid in one of the beds in JP's' med bay, staring up at the ceiling emotionlessly.

Makoto walked into the room, staring somberly as Ludger. "… Ludger…?"

Ludger slowly turned his head towards her. "… Yes, Makoto…?"

"… How are your inuries…?"

"… Fine…"

"Ludger… I'm sorry that –"

"Don't. Don't apologize."

"H – Huh…?"

"It's not you and JP's' fault. Dohnaseek and Lancer just showed up at the worst time."

"Oh…" Makoto mumbled.

Ludger sighed as he sat up. "All that's left is to rescue her. But I need to prepare. Need to get stronger. Upgrade my body."

Milla then walked into the room. "And you really think I'm just going to let you go in there?"

"I have to Milla," Ludger argued. "I have to rescue her."

"You'll be killed."

"In my current state. I'm sure Fumi has some crazy aug upgrades she has been dying to perform on me."

Fumi, suddenly right next to Ludger, asked with anticipation, "You'll really let me do it?"

Ludger stiffened and turned to her in surprise. "… Yes…"

Fumi smiled brightly.

' _… The things I do for friends…_ '

Makoto gulped in fear. "Uuhh… you sure about this…?"

Ludger nodded. "My body is weak to the kind of magic my enemies specialize in. So I need something to tip the scales back in my favor."

"Okay… just the last time you let Fumi do anything to you experiment-wise you went insane. Yelling, screaming, making video game and movie references, and for some reason you tackled Otome and took her pudding."

"… Ah…"

Milla interjected, "How about you try a more standard strength increase first?"

Fumi smiled slyly. "No time. I'll take him and have Otome prep him for surgery."

Miyako then suddenly appeared next to Ludger. "No need to go that far right now."

Fumi pouted in defeat. "Fine. Ruin my fun."

Medea then made herself visible. "I have an idea that might give us an edge."

"Can you people stop doing that!?" Ludger growled.

"But it's fun," Miyako and Medea argued.

Ludger twitched an eyebrow before Medea commented, "I'll head home and start preparing it."

"Right…" Ludger muttered.

* * *

Sometime later, Ludger sighed as he sat on a bench in a small park. "Geez…"

"U – Um… excuse me…" a familiar, childish voice broke the silence.

"Hm?" Ludger hummed in thought before turning to see Illya. "Oh, it's the kid."

"How are your injuries from our battle?"

Ludger shrugged. "They're fine. I've had worse. Like, train crash worse."

"Ah, that's good."

Ludger sighed and then muttered, "If you're here to fight, go away. I'm too tired."

Illya shook her head in response. "That's not why I'm here."

"Oh?" Ludger mumbled in mild surprise.

"You know, I still don't know your name, Mister."

"Ludger. Ludger Kresnik."

"Loser Redneck?"

Ludger immediately face-faulted. "N – No. Ludger Kresnik. Lu – dger. Kres – nik."

"Loafer Kremlin?"

Ludger twitched an eyebrow. "Are you doing that on purpose?"

"A little."

"Figures…"

"Anyway," Illya redirected, "I just came to talk."

Ludger frowned suspiciously. "I'm guessing you want to ask me questions about Caster."

Illya shook her head. "Nah, that stuff is boring. There's gotta be something better than that."

Ludger blinked in thought. "Huh… okay… then tell me, what do you want to talk about?"

Illya put a finger on her chin in thought. "Hhmm… I don't know. I don't get to talk to people very often." She then started playing, trying to balance on a nearby log.

Ludger frowned suspiciously. "… Really?"

"Yup. Hey, why don't you –?" Illya began before losing her balance and falling from the log.

Ludger managed to catch her before she hit the ground. "Careful." He then blinked in thought as he noticed Illya shivering softly in his arms. "You okay?"

Illya nodded slowly. "Yeah, I'm just a little cold."

Ludger raised an eyebrow in confusion. "Really? Under that heavy coat? That's weird."

"I just really don't like the cold."

Ludger frowned in concern. "I see. Want me to take you somewhere and get you something warm to eat?"

"Hm? No thanks, I don't eat."

"What?" Ludger asked in confusion.

"I don't eat foot most of the time. I live on mana."

Ludger remained silent, contemplating her words. "… You're a Spirit?"

Illya looked at him, surprised and bewildered, and then laughed lightly. "Huh? No, silly, I'm a homunculus."

Ludger remained silent once more. "… Is that another name for Spirits?"

Illya shook her head. "No. I'm an artificially created human. Made with alchemy."

"… Eh?"

"Don't you know anything?" Illya asked, getting irritated.

"Concerning this dimension? Not much."

"I… huh?" Illya mumbled in bewilderment.

"You heard me right. Anyway, if you're cold, you should eat or drink something to help warm you up, kid."

Illya raised an eyebrow and then answered, "Berserker keeps talking about something that could make me warm but I don't know what she's talking about."

"What's that?"

"She called it man-milk."

Ludger flattened his brow. "… Your Servant is a pervert."

Illya tilted her head in thought. "Do you know what it is?"

"Yes but… let's save that for another time."

"Huh? Okay. Oh! That reminds me," Illya commented before digging around in one of her pockets.

"Huh?"

Illya then pulled Ludger's watch from her pocket and handed it to him. "Here, this is yours, right?"

"Y – Yeah, thanks," Ludger mumbled in slight surprise before frowning in thought. "Hey, Illya…"

"Yeah?"

"What are you fighting for?"

"What do you mean?" Illya asked in confusion.

"The Holy Grail War. Why are you fighting in it?"

"Because I'm supposed to."

Ludger frowned in frustration. "… And that's it?"

Illya nodded. "Grandpa said I'm supposed to, so I am."

Ludger's frown deepened to a scowl. "That is stupid. Forcing a kid to take part in a war she has no interest in."

"Hey!" Illya suddenly shouted. "I'm not a kid! I'm nineteen."

"… With the way you act?"

"I am!" Illya insisted.

"Then act your age. And start doing what you want to do, not what others force you to."

"I don't have a choice. Can we talk about something else? This is boring."

Ludger narrowed his eyes with irritation.

"What?"

"What do you mean by 'no choice'?" Ludger asked.

Illya frowned in annoyance. "You're still talking about that? I mean that I'm supposed to become the vessel, without me the Grail War can't happen."

"That… is just wrong. You're in this to be nothing but a sacrifice."

Illya tilted her head in confusion. "I am?"

"From what I heard, the Grail is an object of great power. What do you think happens to someone meant to be its vessel?"

Illya blinked in thought and then widened her eyes in horror.

"… You honestly didn't think that, did you?"

"N – No… And… that would mean…" ' _This means they… lied about Mama…_ ' Illya tightened her fists against Ludger's shirt, causing him to sigh before pulling her into a comforting hug.

"Well aren't you a capricious kid?" Mordred asked, appearing behind the group.

Ludger immediately stiffened as Illya looked at her. "B – Berserker!"

"Master. Father…"

Ludger sighed and then argued, "Sorry, but I'm not who you think I am."

"Wh – Why are you here?" Illya asked timidly.

"I could ask you the same," Mordred argued. "You know you're not supposed to leave the mansion without me."

"Mansion?" Ludger asked in surprise. "You guys live in a –?" Ludger asked as he turned to Mordred, stopping when he saw her in her new attire, a very small, white tube top that just barely hid her petite cleavage, a set of extremely short jean shorts that barely covered her, and pair of short, brown boots. "Wh – Whoa… cute…"

Mordred blinked curiously and then realize what he meant and smirked slyly, tugging at her top slightly. "Maybe I'll let you see what's underneath."

"Uuhh… A – Anyway… you guys live in a mansion?"

"Yes," Illya answered before pointing to a series of rolling hills near the edge of the city. "There's a great big western style house up there. And that's where I was told to live during the Holy Grail War."

"I see. Must be lonely there."

Illya nodded thoughtfully. "Yeah. There's my maids, Sarah and Liz, but they're really bossy. They always keep me locked in my room because they say the cold is bad for my health."

Ludger frowned, his annoyance growing evermore. "I see…"

"Tch," Mordred hissed, "and they always bitch about my clothes."

"Well… you do kinda show a lot of skin…"

"So? I'm sexy as hell and everyone should know it. Don't you agree?"

"I'm not going to answer that," Ludger deadpanned.

"Prude."

"No. Smart. Because I know if I answer that you might do something violent to me out of anger. I have enough experience dealing with your kind to know that."

Mordred raised an eyebrow in confusion and annoyance. "If you said no, I might have. If you said yes I might've given you a peek."

"… You're one odd Tsundere."

"Tsundere? Nah, you want Kay for that."

"Kay?" Ludger asked, confused.

"One of my mom's harem. One of many women in it."

"… So Saber is bi… that's… new."

"And you were her only man."

Ludger sighed heavily. "I told you already, I'm not that Hyperion person you seem to think I am."

Mordred merely responded with a smirk. "We'll see. Hey, Master, let's get Father to get us something to eat."

* * *

 **And there you have it, the conclusion to Chapter Four of Chromatic Devil. Hopefully it was enjoyable to you all, so be sure to post a review letting me know if it was. If were confused, unsure, or have questions about anything with the story, post a review with your queries and I will do what I can to address your quandaries. If you did not enjoy the story, I apologize but I would suggest you do something you actually enjoy instead.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter V**

 **Hello and greetings to all my readers! I have come to you with another chapter of Chromatic Devil. Hopefully everyone enjoyed the previous chapter, some of you seemed to at least. I also hope you enjoy this chapter as well, so be sure to post a review letting me know if you do. I would like to thank my coauthor, Bakuto Masaki, as usual for all of his help with writing the story. That said, we should probably move on with the reviewer responses, hm?**

 **enigma95: Thank you, I try to get all the different worlds in my stories to mesh. Haha, sorry about that. If you're overly confused by anything let me know and I'll try to clear up the confusion.**

 **Hopefully you're still sane enough to read the story.**

 **superpeirce: Actually is. No, I am referring to that Hyperion.**

 **That wasn't Brunhilde's doing. I can't really tell you the specifics.**

 **gundam 09: No, Mordred just thinks he looks like her father.**

 **No, she's not. Because Arturia is a woman, not a man.**

 **Well that does it for the reviewer responses, nothing major but still enough. So keep them coming! While you do that, I will move on to the reason you are all here.**

* * *

Ludger, Mordred, and Illya sat quietly in a restaurant, waiting for their food to be served.

However, even though Ludger sat quietly, he was not calm, as Mordred had elected to take them to Macaron. ' _Dammit… of all the restaurants Mordred could've picked… It just had to be this one…_ '

' _Indeed,_ ' Brunhilde remarked. ' _The fates seem to love you._ '

Illya noticed Ludger's tense frown and tilted her head in confusion. "You okay, Mister?"

"Yeah…" Ludger answered weakly. "And what's with the Mister?"

"Isn't that what you're supposed to call someone you don't know very well?"

Ludger sighed in mild annoyance. "Just call me Ludger. Mister makes me sound old."

Illya pointed at him and noted, "Well you do have grey hair."

Ludger twitched an eyebrow and argued, "It's white. Besides, so do you."

Illya huffed proudly. "Mine's white like snow. Yours looks like paper."

Ludger waved a hand dismissively. "No, I'm pretty sure it's the same shade."

"You really must have a death wish," a new voice chided.

Ludger glanced to the side and saw a young woman with short, chin-length, messy red hair, her fringe stopping just above her purple eyes, a small bandage on her nose, her hair framing her face, wearing a short black dress with white frills, detached cuffs, and a pink apron that shaped under her curvaceous bosom. "Ah, hey, Azuki."

The redhead, Azuki knocked him on the head lightly. "I thought I already told you to stop calling me by my first name."

"Gah! Sorry, Shinatsu. Please don't tell her…"

Azuki then smirked and retorted, "Thirty percent tip?"

Ludger flattened his brow. "Twenty," he rebutted flatly.

"Twenty-five."

Ludger sighed and nodded. "Fine."

Azuki grinned happily. "Good."

Ludger sighed as she walked away and then turned to Mordred. "Right… Anyway… why did you attack us?"

Mordred glanced at him and then shrugged and answered plainly, "I wanted to cleave Mother in two."

Ludger stiffened in disbelief and worry. "… Why?"

"She killed you."

Ludger groaned heavily and argued, "… Okay, for the last time, I'm not your father. You're almost as old as I am physically and if what that whole legend thing says is true you lived way before my grandparents were even born."

Mordred merely chuckled in response.

Illya blinked in thought and then commented, "Wow, you're old Bers –"

Mordred twitched an eyebrow and immediately interrupted her remark by conking the young-looking girl atop the head. "Stuff it brat."

"Owie…" Illya pouted as she rubbed the top of her head.

Ludger flinched lightly with a smile. "Cute."

Illya blinked curiously as she looked at him. "Huh? What's cute?"

Ludger stiffened slightly and then shook his head. "Uh… nevermind… So…"

Azuki then walked over to the group holding a tray of dishes. "Here's your food," she greeted as she set the plates down.

As Ludger saw his, an omelet with few garnishes, he paled as he looked at it.

"Is something wrong?" Mordred wondered as she began eating her burger.

Ludger stiffened and then laughed weakly. "N – Nothing…" He then glanced down at the omelet once more with the message 'You're dead' scrawled atop it. ' _H – How does she know…?_ '

Azuki then leaned towards Ludger and noted, "I tried to stop her, but that airhead of yours babbled."

Ludger twitched an eyebrow in annoyance. "Damn it Maxwell…"

After Azuki walked away, Mordred looked at her burger in surprise. "This food is quite good."

Illya nodded happily as she ate noodles. "Yeah!"

Ludger nodded with a small smile. "Well Milla's the one who makes it, so no surprise there."

Mordred raised an eyebrow. "Milla?"

"My girl…" Ludger stiffened as the words caught in his throat, "girlf…" He trailed off as his face increasingly reddened. "M – My friend."

Mordred blinked in thought before smirking.

"What…?" he asked with worry.

Mordred merely continued smirking. "Nothing father." After taking a sip of her drink she added, "Nothing at all."

* * *

After finishing their meal, and Ludger managing to avoid a direct confrontation with Milla, the trio made their way out of the restaurant.

As they walked, Ludger turned to Mordred and asked, "So why'd you want me to treat you to lunch? I assume Illya's a lot richer than I am."

Mordred shot a sideways glance with a smirk before running a hand down her side. "Oh? Don't like taking all this out on a date?"

Ludger flattened his brow and deadpanned, "All what?"

Mordred twitched an eyebrow and growled, "Why you – are you callin' me flat?!"

Ludger stated plainly, "You said it, not me."

Mordred turned to him with annoyance and shouted, "Just because I'm not as gifted as Mother doesn't mean I'm not sexy!"

Ludger glanced at her curiously and asked, "Why'd you bring her into this?"

Mordred stiffened and then flattened her brow. "… You planned that… didn't you?"

Ludger shrugged and answered, "No, you're just predictable."

Illya then snickered in amusement, resulting in Mordred whacking her on the head again. "Owie…" Illya pouted.

"Cute…"

Mordred sighed and then noted, "That was good, though."

Ludger, however, sighed as he shook his now empty wallet. "Great… now I need to wait for more JP's jobs…"

Brunhilde then interjected, ' _And Milla will be justifiably angry that you spent your money on other women._ '

Ludger gulped with fear. ' _I am so dead…_ ' "Better get going…"

Illya then turned to Ludger and bowed. "I guess we'll see you later, Ludger. Try not to die before we get to fight again." She and Mordred then made their way down a different area of the road.

* * *

Ludger gulped as he walked into his apartment quietly. "Must be quiet…" He then stiffened as he felt a tap on his shoulder. "… Miyako?"

"No, why?" Medea asked as she stood behind him.

Sighing with relief, Ludger answered, "No reason."

"I see…" Medea muttered in thought. "At any rate, my plan is just about finished. Come with me."

Ludger blinked in confusion. "Uh, sure."

* * *

Medea then led him to a room in the apartment that was mostly unused, which she had drawn a large magic circle on.

"That's a big magic circle," Ludger noted.

"It is the circle used to summon Servants," Medea explained. "Now, stick out your hand."

Ludger nodded and did so, which Medea then stabbed lightly with a knife, causing blood to flow onto the knife. Ludger flinched lightly as she walked over to the circle. "Now… why'd you do that…?"

"All part of the ritual." Medea stepped forward and dripped some of the blood into the middle of a series of black markings. She then put the dagger away in her cloak. After a moment she extended her right hand forward, facing away from her, placing her left against her chest and then began chanting words Ludger did not understand.

After a few moments the circle flashed brightly and a figure emerged from it. As the light died down, Ludger saw a woman with long, light blonde hair that reached just past her waist, two long bangs hanging down, framing her face and pink eyes, wearing narrow white glasses, a blue, skintight, revealing outfit with light blue accents and crisscrossing strands over the outside of her thighs and the front of her torso from just below her navel to just above her impressive bust, black sleeves with blue sections over her forearms and hands, black, knee-length boots with fox-shaped medals on the knees, a feathery, dark blue collar, a white and gold belt around her waist, held up by a beige and blue, foxlike tail at the base of her spine.

"Huh?" he muttered.

Medea smirked and motioned to the woman. "I present to you, Assassin."

"I see…" he muttered in thought. ' _I am_ so _dead…_ ' He then flinched and hissed as he felt a light burning sensation on his arm. Rolling his sleeve up, he saw a second set of complex, red markings form on his wrist above the markings on his hand. "Great… more seals…"

Assassin looked around curiously and then turned to Ludger. "Where am I?"

"My apartment," Ludger answered plainly.

Assassin folded her arms under her bust with a frown. "Very funny."

"You asked."

Their conversation was interrupted as the door to Ludger's apartment opened and Milla and Maxwell returned.

"Oh boy…" Ludger muttered in worry.

"I really don't think you –" Maxwell said before stopping suddenly as she saw Assassin. "I think I am seeing things…"

Assassin sighed in frustration. "I guess I know where I am now…"

Ludger looked between the two in confusion. "Huh?"

"Ludger…" Milla said angrily.

Ludger stiffened and then pointed at Medea. "… Blame Medea."

Medea blinked in thought. "Wait… do you know each other?"

Maxwell sighed lightly. "You can say that…" She then blinked in thought. "Wait, she really _is_ here?"

Assassin huffed in annoyance. "I'm not an illusion, Maxwell."

"Are you a ghost then, Presa? Or a zombie?"

"I haven't a clue."

"Presa?" Ludger asked.

"That's my name," Assassin, or rather, Presa, answered plainly.

Medea then interjected, "She's a Servant, like me. A Heroic Spirit."

"A what?"

Ludger interjected, "A Ser –"

Presa twitched an eyebrow and interrupted, "I heard what she said."

"Then why'd you ask?" Ludger and Maxwell questioned in unison.

Presa sighed and answered, "Because I have no idea what a Heroic Spirit is."

Medea explained, "The soul of a dead hero summoned by the Holy Grail."

Presa flattened her brow in exasperation and then sighed heavily. "… I need a drink…"

In response, Maxwell created a ball of water in the air.

Presa twitched an eyebrow and snarled, "Not that kind, you halfwit. The kind with alcohol. Moonlight Bourbon if you have it."

Ludger shook his head. "Moonlight Bourbon doesn't seem to exist in this world. Besides that, we don't keep any liquor here after the last time Maxwell got into it."

Presa turned to Maxwell with an annoyed frown. "So yet again you make my life frustrating."

Maxwell folded her arms defensively as she retorted, "I'd say have a greater grievance with you seeing as you groped me."

Ludger stiffened slightly.

Presa frowned and rebutted, "It's not my fault that what I was looking for was hidden in your cleavage."

Ludger immediately slapped a hand over his nose as it began to bleed slowly, causing Milla to twitch an eyebrow. "C – Can we change the subject…? Please? Kinda hard to focus…"

Milla huffed and chided, "Pervert."

"No, that's Mako."

"Now it's my turn to ask a question," Presa interjected. "Why are there two of this infuriating ditz?"

Milla twitched an eyebrow in annoyance. "Don't equate me with that airhead. Because we are _nothing_ alike."

"Senpai!" Sakura cheered as she and Ophis walked into the room. "We're ba –"

"Ah crap," Ludger groaned.

"Stashing chicks?" Ophis questioned, causing Ludger to stiffen.

Sakura widened her eyes. "S – Senpai, are you stashing chicks?!"

"Don't copy her!" Ludger growled. "And no I'm not!"

Sakura then noticed the emblems on Ludger's arm and paled.

Ludger raised an eyebrow in concern. "Sakura?"

Sakura flinched and then looked him in the eyes. "Y – Yes…?"

"You looked pale. Is something wrong?"

"N – No, I'm just tired. How about I make dinner?"

"Oh… okay…"

* * *

Ludger sat in his room, remember what he had learned of the Holy Grail War. "So… I've got two Servants now… and one has history with Maxwell." He then blinked in thought. "Wait… Medea, you there?"

Medea then appeared in a flurry of light. "I am. What do you need?"

"Can the Grail summon someone who's still alive?"

Medea shook her head in response. "No. It can only bring those who no longer have ties to the living world."

Ludger frowned in consternation. "I see… then that means Presa is dead…"

"Yes, that is likely."

"But… then how does she know Maxwell?"

Medea shook her head in response. "You would need to ask them."

"Right…"

* * *

Ludger sighed lightly as he sat at the dinner table with the others.

Sakura noticed his sigh and questioned, "What's wrong, Senpai?"

Ludger narrowed his eyes and then turned to her. "Sakura… are you a Master?"

Sakura stiffened at his question. "Wh – What…? Master of what?"

Ludger merely sighed.

* * *

Later in the night, Presa sat with Maxwell, talking. "So where exactly are we?"

"Another dimension," Maxwell explained.

Presa flattened her brow in response. "Right…"

Ludger chuckled weakly and then asked, "So how do you two know each other exactly?"

Maxwell answered, "She served under Gaius and tried to kill me repeatedly.

"Wow…" He then blinked in thought. "Wait, so you were with that Chimeriad I kept hearing about?"

Presa nodded in reply. "Yes. I was also one of Auj Oule's greatest spies."

"Wow. Wait, so does that mean you were Al –"

Maxwell immediately slapped a hand over his mouth and whispered, "Don't speak that name."

Ludger nodded slowly in confusion.

Presa raised an eyebrow in bewilderment and then redirected, "Anyway, how are you alive, Maxwell? I assume Mathis was able to revive you somehow."

Maxwell shook her head. "Jude was not directly involved. The ones that directly helped me were the Four, by managing to bring my soul to the Spirit Realm before the previous Maxwell's soul purification could be complete."

"I see."

Ophis then pointed at Maxwell and Presa. "Zombies."

Maxwell frowned in annoyance. "No. I was reborn completely as a Great Spirit."

Ophis huffed in disappointment as Maxwell stood.

"I think I'm going to get a little more food." Maxwell then took a step but lost her balance and stumbled.

Ludger immediately leapt from his seat and caught her. "Whoa… you okay, Maxwell?"

Sighing as she stood, Maxwell answered, "Y – Yes. The mana I stored for my trip to the human realm is just starting to run low. I've been managing to keep it from depleting by eating, but even that's starting to lessen its effect."

Ludger frowned in worry. "Is there anything I can do?"

Maxwell's face reddened slightly. "N – No, not really."

"Are you sure? I don't want you neglecting your health."

Ophis then began to say, "Direct –" but was interrupted by Maxwell slapping a hand over her mouth.

"Direct what?"

Maxwell flinched and sputtered, "Nothing! Nothing at all!"

Ludger frowned incredulously. "Maxwell… tell me…"

"… D – Direct Tether…"

Ludger tilted his head slightly in confusion.

"B – But I can't do that with just anyone!"

"Huh?" Ludger mumbled. "Why?"

Maxwell's face turned increasingly red. "Th – That's just… something…"

Milla sighed in exasperation. "Good grief, you make it sound like sex."

Maxwell lowed her head as her face turned a deeper red.

Milla began to sweat slightly. "… I – It's not sex… right…?"

Ophis interjected, "Soul sex."

"Eh!?" Milla and Ludger shouted in unison.

"Wow…" Medea mumbled in surprise.

"Huh," Presa muttered. "That's why you were so mad when Jude had Tethered with Muzet."

Maxwell remained silent in embarrassment.

"Tether already," Ophis urged in annoyance.

"No!" Milla and Maxwell argued in unison.

"Wow," Medea muttered in disbelief. "They agreed on something."

Ludger frowned and interjected, "Milla, if she doesn't do this she could die."

Milla remained silent in frustration before tightening her fists. "… F – Fine. B – But don't think you can go around doing this with just anyone!"

"Don't worry," Ludger eased, "I won't." He then turned to Maxwell. "Maxwell?"

She flinched in response. "Y – Yes…?"

"Are you ready?"

Maxwell stood still for a moment and then took a deep breath and nodded.

"Okay, so how do we do this?"

Maxwell then took another deep breath and walked up to Ludger and pressed her lips firmly against his.

The others all gasped in shock.

Maxwell's body then began to glow brightly before she released a sudden and loud moan.

"Wh – Wh – What the hell!?" Milla sputtered.

"Direct Tether," Ophis answered plainly.

Maxwell then stumbled back slightly, her eyes half-lidded, her face flustered, and her breaths shallow. "W – Wow…"

Ludger frowned with concern. "You okay, Maxwell?"

Maxwell nodded with slightly glazed eyes and a contented smile.

Milla frowned in annoyance. "… I know that look…"

Ludger gulped lightly. "Same…"

"I swear, if you do this with anyone else I'll kill you."

"R – Right…"

Milla then turned to him with a frown and urged, "Now, it's time to start talking."

Ludger gulped. "A – About what…?"

"That little twerp and the floozy."

"Truthfully? Thought the kid could go for a hot meal and her Servant wanted in on it."

Milla sighed in exasperation. "… You're too helpful."

"Yeah… and I have nothing but an empty wallet to show for it…"

Milla immediately twitched an eyebrow and grabbed him by the collar. "What?!"

"H – Huh?"

"You spent all your money on that brat!?"

"Azuki demanded a twenty-five percent tip!"

"Then you should've restricted how much you bought!"

"But they just kept eating and eating… They were like Maxwell on pudding… and Illya was too cute to deny…"

Milla groaned in frustration as she released him. "Well, I guess you'll at least make a good father."

Ludger blinked in thought. "… What?"

Milla stiffened in surprise and turned away. "N – Nothing."

"Um… okay…"

Ophis smirked knowingly.

"Cram it," Milla growled.

* * *

The next morning, Ludger groaned as he slowly awoke. ' _So… heavy…_ '

' _For good reason,_ ' Brunhilde remarked.

Ludger opened his eyes and gaped slightly as he saw Maxwell curled up next to him. ' _Please let that be Milla…_ ' he begged in his mind before turning to the other side and seeing Milla also hugged against him.

Milla moaned lightly as she pressed against him.

"Crap…"

"Mmm…" Maxwell moaned happily in her sleep. "Lollipop…" she mumbled lightly before she started sucking on Ludger's finger softly.

Ludger then turned red and bit his lip as her tongue began swirling over his finger. ' _Who taught her this!?_ '

' _No idea,_ ' Brunhilde added.

' _Crap! This is bad! I've gotta stop her!_ '

Maxwell then moaned quietly as his finger sunk further into her mouth.

Ludger heavily and then flinched as he felt a strong pinch on his arm and turned to see Milla, now awake, staring at him with an annoyed smile.

"Ludger…" Milla said with great irritation. "I hope you have a very good explanation for this." She then frowned and smacked Maxwell on the forehead, waking her. "And you cut that out!"

"H – Huh?" Maxwell muttered weakly as she woke up. "Where's the lollipops?"

"That's not a lollipop."

Maxwell blinked in confusion and then glanced down and realized she had Ludger's finger deep in her mouth. She then swirled her finger one more time curiously.

"STOP THAT!"

"But they taste so good!" Maxwell groaned.

Milla then stood up with a scowl. "That's… it!" She then summoned her blade.

Ludger paled. "N – No! Milla!"

* * *

In the kitchen, Presa sighed as she sat at the table. "Is breakfast ready?"

"Almost," Sakura answered. "It'll be done in –"

Sakura was interrupted as the apartment was rocked by a loud explosion.

"Wh – What was that?!"

Milla then entered the room with a huff, a scorched Ludger and Maxwell following.

"Wh – What happened, Senpai?!"

"Ludger being stupid," Milla hissed.

"But I didn't do anything…" Ludger pouted.

"Exactly."

Ludger twitched an eyebrow in frustration.

* * *

As Ludger and the others made their way to school, Ludger glanced at Sakura with concern. "How are you feeling, Sakura?"

"G – Good…" she answered, surprised at his question.

"Okay…" he muttered with incredulity. "If anything happens, just call out, okay? Even if I can't, Ophis can hear you."

"O – Okay…"

* * *

Later in the morning, Ludger sighed as he sat at his desk. "What a morning…"

Aika walked up behind him and tapped his shoulder. "Home troubles again?"

Ludger groaned and answered, "Yeah… I woke up with Maxwell on me thinking my fingers were lollipops."

Aika snickered and noted, "Too bad she wasn't lower."

Ludger stiffened and slapped a hand over his nose. "Pervert."

Aika smirked and adjusted her glasses proudly. "You know it."

The teacher then walked in with a wide smile. "Okay class! We've got some new students!"

Ludger raised an eyebrow in confusion. ' _Again? It's like every day we get another one…_ ' He then face-faulted as Raynare, in her Yuuma disguise, walked into the classroom. ' _Seriously?!_ '

She then bowed to the class with a warm smile. "It's a pleasure to meet you all. My name is Yuuma Amano."

' _And she's using that name._ '

She then snickered playfully. "Now don't get too excited boys, I've already got a boyfriend."

' _She's not…_ ' Ludger muttered in fear.

She then pointed at Ludger and announced, "And his name is Ludger Kresnik."

' _… Great…_ ' The guys in the class then scowled at Ludger. Groaning, he muttered in his mind, ' _One day… Just one day…_ '

* * *

Ludger and Raynare, her disguise dropped, now on the roof, stood across from each other.

"Are you insane?!" Ludger howled in frustration.

Raynare put a hand on her hip with a smirk. "What? I thought you'd like having it known you've already planted your flag in the cute transfer student."

Ludger twitched an eyebrow in annoyance.

Raynare then folded her arms and questioned, "Anyway, what's with that Hero Tribe girl in your class?"

Ludger sighed and then shrugged. "She works for Miyako and is apparently an old friend of mine."

Raynare raised an eyebrow in confusion. "'Apparently'? You say that like you're unsure."

"Because I lost my memory several years ago."

"And I'm guessing the last time you saw her was before that?"

"Seems like it. And apparently I was good friends with her and Miyako Hotsuin."

Raynare scratched her head with a sigh and chuckled in amusement. "You're… a weird guy."

"And you're not?" Ludger rebutted.

"A guy? No. But I'm probably pretty weird from your point of view. Then again, you humans all think we're strange."

Ludger shrugged dismissively. "So? There's no such thing as normal."

"Unfortunately, that's not a viewpoint many of your kind share."

Ludger folded his arms with a huff. "That's because the vast majority are morons."

Raynare narrowed her eyes and snarled, "Yes, but those morons are the reason my race has to share a world with the devils and grim reapers."

"Roads to peace begin with coexistence with others."

Raynare huffed in derision. "Right. As if those uptight dicks want peace. About fifty years ago we tried putting out some kind of peace treaty and they just threw back in our faces."

Rias, sitting on the railing on the edge of the building behind them, interjected, "You mean that peace treaty where Azazel asked for one hundred devil women in return for putting an end to the fighting?"

Raynare twitched an eyebrow angrily. " _That's_ what he asked for?!"

"Yes," Rias answered simply.

Raynare sighed heavily. "… My boss is an idiot…"

"Most people know that already," Rias remarked, causing Raynare to twitch an eyebrow in annoyance.

Ludger then raised a hand. "Who are you talking about?"

"The leader of the fallen angels," Rias explained.

"Ah. And he asked for women…"

"Yes. He's a sleezebag."

Kalawarner then made her way onto the roof with the others. "So this is where you disappeared to."

"Where else did you expect, Sis?" Raynare asked.

Ludger blinked in confusion. "… Eh?"

"What?"

"You're… sisters?"

"Yes," Kalawarner answered plainly.

"Wow…"

Raynare then smirked and commented, "I am sure Kala wouldn't mind being part of a threesome."

Ludger stiffened as blood poured from his nose, though Kalawarner shot an annoyed frown at Raynare.

Raynare merely snickered in amusement as Rias sighed in frustration.

* * *

Ludger groaned as he sat in class, the male students maintaining heavy scowls at him. ' _Why…?_ '

"Ludger," Yuki immediately stated as she walked up to him, "want to eat lunch?"

The male students' glares deepened.

Ludger merely gulped. "Um… sure…"

* * *

As the two sat in the school's courtyard with lunch, Yuki questioned, "Have you remembered yet?"

Ludger shook his head with a sigh. "No… Not a bit…"

Yuki frowned in disappointment. "I see…" She then smiled softly. "Then I will just stay by your side until you do."

Ludger blinked and then smiled in confusion. "Uh, thanks… I think."

Yuki then redirected, "So… a fallen is now in the school."

"Two, actually."

Yuki turned to him in surprise. "Oh?"

"Ra – er, Yuuma's older sister is in the third year."

Yuki narrowed her eyes suspiciously. "I see… be careful. Fallens are dangerous."

Ludger sighed in frustration. "Everything is dangerous. Besides, they seem interested in keeping me alive. Not to mention they are both under my protection."

"For now."

Ludger sighed in exasperation. "I probably can't convince you to trust them, but I do. So don't try and start a fight with them."

Yuki shook her head in response. "I won't. But if they attack me I won't hold back."

"They won't."

"We'll see."

* * *

After lunch, Ludger sighed as he sat in class. "Please let the rest of today be peaceful…"

Taiga then walked into the room, mildly irritated.

"Please let there be no more surprises…"

"Mr. Yamada's out sick today, so you'll be getting a substitute."

Ludger raised an eyebrow curiously. ' _A substitute?_ '

A tall, buxom woman with long, wavy purple hair tied in a folded ponytail at the back with two long locks hanging down, framing her face, accentuating her dark red eyes, who was wearing a white, frilly blouse with long sleeves and a wide neck that revealed a large portion of her bust, including the mole on her right breast, along with a small portion of her black, lacy bra underneath, a short, form-hugging black skirt with a small slit up the right side, black high-heeled shoes, and long, thigh-high stockings with lacy black garters visible at the edges of the skirt, along with frameless, squared glasses walked into the room, her bosom swaying slightly with her steps.

Ludger gulped lightly.

The woman adjusted her glasses and announced evenly, "I am Suzune, I will temporarily take over your history lessons."

Taiga pouted slightly. "Aaww… come on. Put a little more feeling into it!"

Suzune glanced at Taiga with an annoyed glare.

Taiga paled and shrunk back. "O – Or not… that's fine too…"

"Good," she responded simply as she panned over the room, her gaze stopping momentarily on Ludger before continuing.

Ludger gulped slightly in worry. ' _Oh great, now what…?_ '

' _Don't ask questions you aren't prepared to have answered,_ ' Brunhilde warned.

' _… Fair enough. At least she doesn't seem hostile…_ '

' _I'd say there are bigger concerns._ '

' _Like…?_ '

"It's time for classes," Suzune suddenly announced firmly.

* * *

Ludger sighed as he stood from his desk, only to see Suzune approaching him. He gulped as her bosom swayed with her steps.

"Come with me," Suzune urged.

"Wh – Why?" he asked with concern.

"You are Rias' Pawn, are you not?"

Ludger stiffened and nodded slowly.

"I am her mother's Knight."

"I see…" he mumbled.

"She has requested I aid you. Now, will you follow me or do I have to bring you by force?"

"I'll walk."

"Good."

* * *

Suzune then led Ludger to a room where he saw several people sitting within.

"Uuhh…" he muttered as he saw the six figures in the room.

"Should you choose to join us," Suzune began, "they will be your classmates."

The first was a fair-skinned young woman with short, wavy, chin-length, green hair, her fringe sweeping to the left just above her calm amber eyes, her expression stone-faced, minus her tongue sticking out slightly, wearing a dingy, small, yellow tube-top with many large rips that exposed most of her sizable bosom, long, tattered blue jeans with multiple large rips in them, as well as a grey belt that hung loosely, the zipper on her pants open, revealing a small portion of white panties, plain brown loafers, as well as tight, black constricts down her forearms and calves, holding a large number of daggers. She glanced at him and licked the side of one of her blades.

' _That's creepy yet cute…_ '

"She is Hikage," Suzune explained.

At that moment, a short girl with long, waist-length black hair and red eyes, though her left was covered by a black eyepatch with a pattern of three red tomoe arranged in a circle on it, and a noticeably flat chest wearing a gothic Lolita outfit consisting of a black, white, and teal colored, frilled dress, a matching bonnet, white stockings, black shoes, black ring anklets with cat head designs on them, along with black cat ears on top of her head, a black cat tail poking out of her dress, and a pair of small, black, feathered wings on her back suddenly sprung to her feet with a smirk. "You can call me Mirai!"

"… Cute…" Ludger muttered.

A teenage girl with deeply tanned skin, long, dark brown hair tied in a long ponytail with a white ribbon that stood up on the ends, and yet the hair still reached down to her feet, and blue-grey eyes wearing the female Kuoh uniform without the shoulder cape, and baggy white socks smirked and waved lazily. "I'm Homura."

"I see," he answered evenly.

With a pout, Homura rebutted, "That's it?"

"I live with women with big busts."

Near the edge of the group, a pretty teenage girl with long, flowing, wavy, dark purple hair that reached past her knees, two strands framing her cute face and her matching, dark purple eyes, that wore a dark grey gothic dress with many light grey accents on the frills and the necktie, and a black ribbon in her hair like a hairband, and a massive bust that was accentuated by her gothic outfit tilted her head silently with confusion.

' _But not that big…_ '

A young woman with short, chin-length, light brown hair that curled at the ends, mischievous, dark green eyes, wearing an outfit that was little more than pink and white lingerie, a small top with a small diamond-shaped opening that revealed a small portion of her impressive bust, shoulder-length white gloves, thigh-high, white boots, and a large lab coat slung over her back with multiple vials on the inside, a large pink bow on her bangs then patted the purplette on the shoulder. "Don't mind Murasaki, she doesn't speak much."

"Ah… and you are?"

With a smirk, she answered, "Haruka."

"I see." He then blinked as he saw the last member, a young woman with long, waist-length, light blonde hair cut with straight bangs just above her bright green eyes, held to one side with a green clip who wore a knee-length, light green dress with a white slip underneath that just barely covered her sizable cleavage, leaving much of it exposed, a frilled, white choker, white gloves with matching arm warmers, a small white apron attached to a belt that held a large pouch and multiple crossbow bolts, a teal beret atop her head with a white bow on the top, white stockings, brown boots, and a large, curve, silver and black sword slung across her back, eating a large dish of bean sprouts.

The blonde looked at him curiously. "Hm? Yes?"

"Are those bean sprouts?"

Smiling, she answered, "But of course. They're the most wondrous dish. Ah, and my name is Yomi."

"I see. Nice to meet you. And I know what to cook you then."

Yomi furrowed her brow in confusion. "Why would you cook bean sprouts?"

"Have you ever tried to simmer them or mix them in a stew?"

"They're best raw."

"Not always."

"Will you join?" Suzune interjected.

"… What do you people do?"

"You can't tell?" Homura asked with confused surprise.

"Judging by all the weapons? I'd say mercenaries."

"Nothing so vulgar," Haruka chided. "We're shinobi."

"I see." He then turned to Suzune. "And you asked me to join because…?"

"Lady Gremory requested it," Suzune explained.

"I see… I'm guessing for training."

Suzune nodded in reply. "Yes."

"This is good…"

"Oh?"

"Yeah… training with all of you will help me get even stronger even faster. Much better than letting Fumi mess with and upgrade my Augs."

"Then you will join, I take it."

"Yes."

"Good. Then let us start by testing your skill."

Ludger nodded in understanding. "Right. Who will I have to fight?"

Suzune motioned to Homura and ordered, "Homura, you will test him."

Homura grinned as she stood and readied a collection of six swords, clutching one between each of her fingers, three in each hand.

Ludger narrowed his eyes and readied his dual blades in a flash of light.

"Do not hold back," Suzune ordered. "Either of you."

"Right," Ludger answered before charging.

Homura suddenly vanished and then reappeared behind Ludger.

Ludger instantly lashed out with a kick behind him, but Homura hopped onto his upraised foot and slashed at him. He narrowed his eyes and raised his artificial arm, taking the brunt of the force.

Homura blinked in confusion and then smirked. "Not bad." Her swords then started glowing as they heated up.

' _Ah crap!_ ' Ludger growled in his mind before pushing her away before his swords vanished, replaced by a large hammer.

Homura tossed one of her heated blades at Ludger.

Ludger responded by spinning his hammer, knocking the blade away.

Homura lunged forward and grabbed the sword, reappearing above Ludger.

Ludger slammed the hammer down and shouted, "Sanctuary!" before a dome of energy appeared around him, sending Homura bouncing off harmlessly. He then instantly switched back to his swords and rushed at her. "Lunar Reflection!"

Homura hissed and spun one of her swords, blocking his attack with a wheel of flames.

Ludger smirked with intrigue. "A fire user."

"That's enough," Suzune suddenly interjected, garnering the attention of the duo. "Ludger, I believe I told you not to hold back."

Homura stiffened and looked at Ludger in disbelief. "Th – That was holding back…?"

Ludger shrugged in response. "Hey, I don't want to kill anyone. This is supposed to be just a spar."

Suzune narrowed her eyes. "And shinobi fight to kill, even in spars."

Ludger frowned in frustration. "But… using _that_ in this would make the spar go far too quickly."

"A crushing defeat is the best way to grow. You won't know your limits until you reach an impasse."

Ludger sighed and reached for his pocket watch. "Fine, then."

Suzune then put up a hand. "That won't be necessary. I've seen enough to assess your skills. You can teach the others how much growth they have left later."

"Okay then, now what?"

Suzune raised a hand into a complex shape before smoke billowed next to her. When it cleared, a second Suzune became visible. "I get you up to speed on what the others are learning."

"… Can you teach me that cloning technique?"

Suzune raised an eyebrow before her expression evened out once more. "Eventually. First you need to learn how to use chakra."

"Catra?"

Suzune flattened her brow in frustration. "… Oh dear."

* * *

Rias sat at her desk when Ludger entered the Occult Research Club, limping slightly. "Do I… even want to know…?"

"Training…"

"… Right. Well, moving on, there won't be any contracts or deliveries tonight."

"Huh?"

Rias stood and walked towards the door with Akeno. "Akeno and I have some personal business to attend to. So you can go home early."

"Um… okay. I'll see you later then."

* * *

Ludger sighed as he made his way back to his apartment, rubbing his shoulder in discomfort. "Geez…"

"… Ludger…?" a familiar voice asked curiously.

Ludger turned in confusion, seeing Asia looking at him, surprise. "Huh? Asia?" His eyes then widened greatly. "Asia! You're okay!" He ran towards her, hugging her tightly. "You're alive!"

Asia gasped lightly in surprise. "… C – Can't… breathe…"

"Oh, sorry," Ludger answered in embarrassment as he backed away. "What are you doing here?"

Asia stiffened and laughed weakly. "I – I was going to ask you the same thing…"

"Ah. Well I'm just on my way home."

"Oh… w – well I was just on a break, so I… decided to take a walk."

"I see…"

"Anyway…" she mumbled softly before her stomach growled loudly.

Ludger blinked in thought and then chuckled. "Someone sounds hungry. Come on, I'll take you out to eat."

She smiled brightly in relief. "R – Really?!"

"Yeah. Anywhere you want to go?"

Asia frowned lightly in thought as she looked around before her face lit up with excitement and she pointed ahead. "There! Their outfits are so cute!"

Ludger turned in the direction she pointed and paled, seeing Macaron. "… S – Sure…" he answered shakily. ' _I'm dead…_ '

* * *

Inside, Milla sighed as she delivered another tray of food and then turned and saw Ludger walk in with Asia. Twitching an eyebrow, she crunched the tray in her hands and growled, "… He's dead…"

* * *

Ludger sighed as he sat with Asia and then saw Milla walking towards him and flinched in fear. "Oh, uh, hi… Milla…"

Milla responded with an overly sweet smile.

Asia saw Milla and turned to her before bowing politely. "It's nice to meet you."

Milla blinked, frowned in thought, and then sighed slightly. "Well, you seem sweet enough." Her frown then returned, deeper, as she turned to Ludger. "So you're going out with _another_ girl, Ludger?"

Ludger flinched in worry. "H – Huh?"

Maxwell then approached the trio with mild confusion. "I don't understand. What's wrong with more girls loving Ludger?"

Asia blinked in confusion as Milla turned to Maxwell and twitched an irritated eyebrow. "The mere fact that you ask that question proves you don't understand anything."

Maxwell folded her arms in protest. "Really? I think it'd be a good thing."

Milla growled angrily. "What? How could this be _good_?!"

Maxwell raised an eyebrow in confusion. "How can it not be? It shows he's loved by many and that they are being loved by a man that would do anything for them."

Ludger gulped in trepidation. ' _Uh-oh, this is bad…_ '

Milla sighed and put a hand on her hip in annoyance. "You really don't get it, do you? The more floozies he's surrounded by, the less time and energy he has for each one."

Maxwell narrowed her eyes. "You know that's not true. But I believe I see what your thought is. You wish to be greedy and keep Ludger to yourself and deny others the happiness you have."

Milla's face turned bright red before she snarled. "Wh – What!? That's nonsense! You're just being stupid!" She then pointed at Ludger and shouted, "I – I'm just thinking about him! I – If he's surrounded by girls he'll be too exhausted to help anyone! Right, Ludger?!"

Ludger flinched in response. "H – Huh…!? D – Don't drag me into this!"

Maxwell shook her head. "I am not. I am just trying to be helpful. After all, you seem to get very aggressive and try to harm Ludger whenever he's near another girl. Like this morning."

Milla's face reddened further. "I – I do not! I – I just…" She then turned to the side and mumbled, "I just don't want him to ignore me…"

Ludger frowned. "Why would I _ever_ ignore you?"

Maxwell tilted her head in confusion. "Do you truly think so little of him that you have to hit him?"

Milla stiffened and tightened her fists. "W – Well… s – someone needs to…" she trailed off before snarling, "to tell him when he's being stupid!" She then immediately ran to the back of the restaurant.

"M – Milla!" Ludger called out as she ran off.

Asia merely blinked in confusion.

Maxwell furrowed her brow in thought. "Hhmm… I did not expect her to run."

Azuki walked up to Ludger, having witnessed the preceding, and asked, "What'd you do now?"

"N – Nothing!" Ludger shouted in fear.

Ryouko frowned with concern. "Oh dear, what happened?"

"I don't know!"

Maxwell answered, "I was merely pointing out something to my twin concerning her treatment of Ludger. And then she ran off."

Ryouko folded her arms in thought. "Hhmm… why don't you stay here? I'll see if I can talk to her."

"Okay…" Ludger answered, worried.

* * *

In the back of the restaurant, Milla stood over one of the counters, her fists clenched as tears of frustration fell from her eyes.

"Milla?" Ryouko asked with worry as she approached the sobbing blonde. "Now what's with all these tears?"

Milla stiffened and swiftly turned around, wiping the tears from her face. "Wh – What do you want?"

"Simple. To find out why you're crying." Ryouko then smiled and dabbed Milla's face with a soft tissue. "I just want to know why the face of my prettiest waitress is stained with tears."

Milla frowned in frustration. "Th – They just don't get it…"

"Who doesn't get what? Get what exactly? People can't understand something if you don't tell them."

Milla tensed as she answered, "W – Well… they keep saying I'm being selfish with Ludger… be – because I don't want him to be with any other girls…"

"That you don't want him to be happy? Have you ever considered that maybe he isn't the type of person to stick with just one woman?"

Milla grit her teeth with disgruntlement. "You too!? None of you get it!" Tears of resentment began falling from her eyes once more, with greater force. "You don't get it…" She grabbed Ryouko's shoulders as she trembled. "You don't understand…" She continued as her fingers clenched, "He… he's… he's all I have left. My sister… my home… they're all gone and… and what if one of those girls takes him away…? If that happened… I'd be… I'd be all alone…"

"Do you have such little faith in him? You really think he'd leave you?"

Milla flinched and lowered her face with vexation. "It's just… whenever I see him with them… I get scared… I get scared that he'll leave me…"

"You know he'd never leave you though. Even if you're pregnant I bet he'd stay by your side." Ryouko then smiled warmly and added, "You shouldn't be scared. Just because he has other women in his life and in his heart doesn't mean your place in his heart will change. Have you ever considered that his heart is big enough for so many?"

Milla tightened her fingers as her entire body trembled, tears gushing from her eyes.

Ryouko smiled warmly as she wrapped her arms softly around Milla. "There, there. Let it all out. And remember, Ludger's love for you will never change. No matter what. I guarantee it." She pulled away from Milla gently and wiped some of the tears from her eyes. "Now, why don't you go out there and apologize?"

"R – Right. I will." Milla sniffed lightly before smiling contentedly. "And… thanks, Ryouko."

Ryouko merely smiled happily.

* * *

Milla returned to the dining room of the restaurant and looked around in confusion. "Hey, Maxwell, where's Ludger?"

Maxwell, wiping a table down, turned to her and answered, "He left a little while ago."

Milla lowered her head with a frown. "I… I see…"

Maxwell raised an eyebrow and asked, "Something wrong?

"… Nothing…"

Azuki turned to Maxwell worriedly.

Maxwell shrugged and turned back to Milla. "If you want, you can go after him. He shouldn't be too far."

Milla shook her head in response. "I'll be fine."

Maxwell frowned with concern. "Are you sure?"

Milla nodded slowly. "Yeah."

* * *

Ludger and Asia walked down the pavement not far from Macaron as Asia frowned somberly. "Did I mess things up again…?"

Ludger shook his head in denial. "No, you didn't."

"But I made that woman so angry… just like before…"

"She wasn't mad at you, only me." He then blinked in thought. "Wait, before? What do you mean?"

Asia stiffened and shook her head. "U – Uh, n – nothing…"

Ludger frowned in concern. "Asia, you can tell me."

Asia's frown deepened as she began. "Right after I was born, my family abandoned me in front of a small church in Western Europe. Eventually, someone found me crying outside, and I was raised there most of my life. When I was eight though, an injured puppy wandered into the church and I prayed for him as hard as I could, and a miracle happened. After that I was sent to a huge church somewhere else, I didn't know where. The lame and the sick came from all over the world to be cured by my prayers. I was so happy that my powers could help people."

"And then what?"

"I… I met an injured boy one day and healed him. But… he was a devil. After that, people started calling me a witch, they said anyone who would use divine powers on a devil was a heretic."

Ludger frowned angrily. "If you ask me those guys don't deserve you."

"Maybe… but I never once forgot the joy of prayer and how truly thankful I was to God. And I know there are those out there who wish to do evil. I am sure even that is God's will… if I can overcome it all, I'm sure He'll fulfill my dream."

Ludger raised an eyebrow curiously. "Your dream?"

Asia nodded happily and explained, "Yes. To make lots of friends and have fun with them, buying books, gathering flowers… because… I don't have any friends."

Ludger frowned curiously. "I'm not your friend?"

Asia stiffened as she turned to him. "H – Huh?"

Ludger then pouted and noted, "You just said you had no friends. I thought I was a friend."

Asia blushed brightly and sputtered in embarrassment, "Th – That's not – I mean – I didn't –!"

Ludger chuckled lightly and patted her head softly.

"… Huh…?"

"It's okay," he eased.

"How sweet, I might cry," Dohnaseek growled as he appeared next to the two.

Ludger groaned heavily. "Just one day. That's all I ask."

"Hm?"

"I'd just want one day without some asshole like you ruining it Donut."

Dohnaseek twitched an eyebrow and argued, "Let the girl go and you can go on your merry way. Otherwise, I'll vaporize you."

Ludger huffed angrily. "Here's my counter offer. Fly away now and you won't lose both arms."

Dohnaseek huffed in annoyance and then turned to Asia. "Humph. It was foolish of you to run Asia. Now your friend has to die."

Ludger summoned one of his pistols and fired a shot, however Lancer appeared in front of Dohnaseek and blocked the blast.

Asia stiffened and lowered her head in shame. "Ludger… I'm sorry, I lied to you…"

Ludger nodded in understanding. "I know. You're not the kind of person to work with scum like them. So do me a favor and run. I'll take care of these two."

"She won't escape," Lancer threatened.

Medea then appeared next to Asia with a smirk. "On the contrary."

Ludger smiled in relief. "Caster."

Dohnaseek snarled and shouted, "Lancer! Don't let them escape!"

Suddenly a figure jumped from the bushes.

Ludger turned and saw a short girl with messy blonde hair that was tied in short, twin, side-ponytails, and sharp blue eyes wearing a gothic black dress with white frills, a large black bow on the front, a green jewel embedded on the collar, white, thigh-high socks, black shoes, and a large black bow in her hair, along with large, feathered, black wings on her back. "… Cute…"

She slinked back in disgust. "… Creep."

Ludger flinched lightly. "C – Creep? I'm not a creep…"

"Mittelt!" Dohnaseek shouted. "Take them down!"

Ludger and the others tensed.

Dohnaseek then summoned a large spear of light. "Enough babbling! Time to die!"

Presa then suddenly appeared behind Dohnaseek in a flurry of light. "You're right. It is."

"Hu –?" Dohnaseek began but stopped as Presa plunged a dagger through his neck, causing his body to collapse with blood gushing from the wound.

Lancer's eyes widened in disbelief. ' _I didn't even sense her!_ '

Mittelt stumbled back, her eyes wide in fear as she looked at Dohnaseek's body.

At that moment, Raynare and Kalawarner then descended to the area.

Asia gasped in fear as she saw them before hiding behind Ludger.

"We late for the party?" Raynare asked with a smirk.

Ludger turned to her with an equivalent smirk and retorted, "A little."

Mittelt widened her eyes in shock. "R – Raynare?! Dohnaseek said you were dead!"

Raynare raised an eyebrow in confusion. "Huh?"

Ludger blinked and turned to Raynare. "Raynare, friend of yours?"

Raynare nodded in response. "Yeah. Mittelt. The youngest of our li'l group."

Lancer tensed as she prepared to fight the group around her.

Medea raised a hand towards her. "Move and I blast you."

Lancer growled angrily as she looked around. ' _Great… outnumbered… Who'd have thought Assassin would be here…_ '

Mittelt trembled in confusion as she tried to decide her next action.

Raynare sighed and beckoned her over. "Mit, come over here."

Mittelt stiffened and turned to her. "H – Huh…?"

Lancer narrowed her eyes incredulously. "You'd betray us?"

Raynare huffed and retorted, "There is no 'us'. Just you."

Ludger added, "And you are severely out numbered. So stand down."

As Lancer kept her attention focused on Ludger and the others, Medea smirked before vanishing.

Lancer widened her eyes as Medea appeared behind her. "Wha –?" she grunted before feeling a sharp pain in her back as Medea plunged a short, violet, jagged dagger into her back. Lancer stumbled forward and then collapsed to her knees. "Wh – What the…?!"

Medea smirked as she held the dagger up. "You like? This is my Noble Phantasm. Rule Breaker."

Lancer narrowed her eyes angrily and growled, "Wh – What did you… do…?"

Medea shrugged as Rule Breaker vanished. "Nothing much. Just severed your contract with your Master."

Lancer's eyes widened in surprise. "Y – You did?!"

Medea blinked in surprised confusion. "You're… happy?"

"Naturally. You can't imagine what that man is like…"

Ludger sighed and then flinched as he felt a burning sensation on his arm. Rolling his sleeve up, he saw more Command Seals on his arm. "Caster…?"

Medea blinked. "Ah, right. I transferred Lancer's Contract to you."

"Oh. Cool."

Lancer blinked in surprise as she stood. "Wait, then you accept me, Lancer, as your Servant? Even… after I tried to kill you…?"

Ludger sighed and answered, "If I held a grudge against every person that tried to kill me, Milla and I would never have gotten together." He then glanced at his arm in frustration. "Great. If this keeps up my entire arm will be a tattoo."

Raynare smirked lightly, running her fingers over the marks on his arm. "I think it suits you."

"Really?" he asked in surprise.

"Yes."

"Huh. Wonder if Milla will… think… so… Ah fuck…"

Lancer tilted her head in confusion.

' _Milla is going to_ kill _me…_ '

Presa then pointed to Asia and Mittelt. "What do we do with them?"

"Isn't it obvious?"

* * *

Ludger, Lancer, Medea, Presa, Raynare, Kalawarner, Mittelt, and Asia approached the door to Ludger's apartment, Ludger gulping heavily in worry. "Deep breaths Ludger…" He then opened the door and saw Milla and the others happily going about their standard activities, Milla and Sakura preparing dinner. "Oh good…"

"Ah, welcome –" Milla greeted before seeing Asia and Mittelt added to the group. "… Start. Talking."

* * *

 **And cut! That brings chapter six of Chromatic Devil to a close. I hope everyone enjoyed the chapter. Be sure to leave a review letting me know if you did. If you were confused, unsure, or had any questions about anything, leave them in a review and I will do what I can to address them in a reviewer response. If you did not enjoy the chapter, review if you must, but I would suggest doing something you actually enjoy instead. Well, that about does it for my babbling, so until the next chapter, bye-bye!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter VI**

 **Greetings to all my readers! Yes, I know it has been quite a while since the last update to Chromatic Devil, so I hope this chapter makes up for the wait. Everyone enjoyed the previous chapter I hope, or at least most people. Similarly, I aspire that everyone enjoys this chapter as well, so be sure to leave a review if you do. As per usual I would like to thank Bakuto Masaki, my coauthor, for all of his ongoing help with all of my stories. Anyway, I have nothing else to add here, so let us move on with the reviewer responses.**

 **Superpeirce: It will effect it greatly, as can be surmised. He will get there. Because that whole "two copies of the same thing can't exist" thing is bullshit. That second Rollo that disappeared after that sci-fi temple was just a hologram. Plus, remember, there were two Ludgers inside of Victor's dimension along with two Judes in that mission with the very gay Aska. So obviously two instances of the same person can coexist. You do, though due to future plans that information is now irrelevant.**

 **correnhimself316: Cut him a little slack, people always want him dead.**

 **enigma95: It always does. The rest of that is mostly true with the exception of one detail. Can't reveal that, sorry.**

 **hornofdesolation: That was the goal.**

 **And there you have it! Not much but it's something. So, with that all of that done, let us move on to the main event!**

* * *

Ludger, Lancer, Medea, Presa, Raynare, Kalawarner, Mittelt, and Asia approached the door to Ludger's apartment, Ludger gulping heavily in worry. "Deep breaths Ludger…" He then opened the door and saw Milla and the others happily going about their standard activities, Milla and Sakura preparing dinner. "Oh good…"

"Ah, welcome –" Milla greeted before seeing Asia and Mittelt added to the group. "… Start. Talking."

Ludger hurriedly answered, "Ran into Dohnaseek. Killed him. Medea did something and now I am Lancer's Master. Oh, and Mittelt here is one of Ray and Kal's friends."

Milla remained silent before sighing in exasperation, causing Ludger to gulp in fear. "Fine."

The white-haired man looked at her in disbelief. "… Eh?"

"I said fine. I'll just make extra," she answered coldly.

Ludger frowned in worry.

Sakura turned to Milla and offered, "Need some help?"

Milla nodded as the two entered the kitchen. "Sure. Would you chop those onions?"

"Right."

Medea stood in confusion with the others before turning to Ludger. "Uuhh… did something happen?"

Ludger walked up to Milla and put a hand on her forehead.

Milla looked up at him in thought. "Huh? What are you…?"

Ludger looked her in the eyes and asked, "Are you feeling alright?"

Milla twitched an eyebrow and slammed a fist into his gut, sending him stumbling back.

"G – Guess you are…"

* * *

After the food, had been prepared, the ever-increasing group sat around the table to eat.

Asia looked at the dish in front of her before looking to the group around her, silent.

Milla looked at the girl in thought. "Well? Eat it."

"Okay…" Asia muttered before looking back down at her food, trembling slightly.

Ludger frowned in worry. "What's wrong, Asia?"

Asia shook her head as tears formed in her eyes. "Nothing. It's just… My wish…"

Ludger smiled warmly and patted her head softly. "Yeah. Came true huh?"

Asia nodded with a wide smile as tears of joy fell down her cheek.

Milla smiled warmly before putting a hand on her abdomen. ' _He will be a great father…_ '

After a few moments, Ludger's phone began to ring. "Hello?" he questioned as he answered.

"Ludger?" Miyako asked on the other end.

"Miyako?"

"I have a new job for you."

"I see. What is it?"

"It'll be there in a few minutes."

Before Ludger could respond, the doorbell to the apartment rang. "Huh?" He opened the door to see Mako standing with Mio and a second person, a girl with waist-length, straight, silver hair with two large beads on the sides, bearing the symbols for male and female, and her straight-cut fringe ended just before her dark purple eyes, wearing a knee-length black dress with white fringe, a dark brown corset, a matching mantle over her shoulders with a keyhole-shaped buckle, black stockings, and tall, high-heeled, brown, platform boots.

"… Oh boy…" Ludger groaned.

Miyako commented, "They're there I take it? Good, Mako can give you the details," before hanging up.

Ludger put away his phone and turned to Mako and demanded bluntly, "Mako, explain."

"Inside," Mako answered.

* * *

After the group had all gathered in the living room, Mako turned to Ludger as she motioned to Mio and her white-haired friend. "This is Mio Naruse. And this is her servant and bodyguard, Maria."

"I see…" Ludger muttered in bewilderment.

"How much have you been told of the Underworld?"

"Some basics. No politics."

"There are many nations there, but the two biggest are Makai and Hell."

Ludger raised an eyebrow with intrigue. "Really?"

"Yes," Mako replied with a nod. "The previous ruler of Makai was Wilbert. But one year ago he was assassinated and a new Demon Lord took his throne. Mio is the daughter of Wilbert."

"I see. So she's under protection now."

"Yes. When Wilbert died, the power he had entered Mio's body, and now Wilbert's enemies and those who serve the new Demon Lord want that power."

Ludger scowled with disgust. "Power hungry assholes."

Mako nodded with a sympathetic frown as she turned to Mio and Maria. "Essentially. Mio had been under the protection of some of Wilbert's followers who acted as her parents, but they were murdered right before her eyes by one of his enemies."

"I see. She'll be safe here. Though… Kinda worried we might not have enough room here. We might need a bigger place."

"When you return from school tomorrow that will be fixed."

"Right…" he answered, unconvinced.

Maria turned to Mako curiously. "So he'll be taking care of us?"

Mako nodded in reply. "Yes. And please try not to put them under some kind of spell like the last people. It took weeks of rehabilitation to fix."

"What?" Ludger asked bluntly.

"Oh, nothing," Maria answered with a hand wave and a flimsy laugh.

"Okay then…"

Mako stood as she turned to the two. "Then I'll leave you to get acquainted with your new family," she explained before leaving.

Milla sighed before growling. "I'm… gonna kill her…"

Ludger turned and tried to calm her down. "N – Now, now Milla…"

The blonde turned to him angrily, grabbing him by the collar. "Why didn't you turn her down!?"

Ludger answered succinctly, "It's forty thousand yen a day."

Milla stiffened in disbelief, releasing him. "… I – I see… That woman has a lot of money…"

"Yeah… a scary amount of it. I'd bet she could buy anything…"

"Yeah…" Milla noted, drooling slightly.

Raynare snickered and remarked, "Your greed is showing."

Milla twitched an eyebrow at the fallen.

Ludger redirected, "A – Anyway, everyone should try to make Mio and Maria feel welcome. So please make them feel at home. I don't want anyone trying to kill one another."

"Right…" Milla muttered in frustration.

Raynare nodded with a shrug. "Sure. As long as the Succubus doesn't try anything to crazy."

Ludger stiffened and turned to her. "… S – Succubus…?"

Raynare pointed to Maria. "Yeah. The Loli."

Milla clenched her fists with rage. "I'm… gonna kill that woman… No… gotta be calm…"

* * *

The next morning, Ludger groaned as he felt a weight on his chest. "Geez Milla… It's a bit early for this…" However, he glanced to the side and saw Milla fast asleep on the bed. ' _… Is it Kuroka…?_ ' He then felt the large round lumps against his torso. ' _Nope. Too big._ ' After a moment, he pulled an arm out and pulled up the comforter, seeing Mio lying on top of him. "… Oh boy…"

Mio then sat up with a smile and stared at him. "Morning."

"Why are you in my bed… on top of me…?"

Mio looked at him in thought. "Hm? I thought boys liked to be woken up like this."

A bead of sweat fell down Ludger's cheek in exasperation. "Maybe. But… if Milla wakes up she's going to kill us."

Mio tilted her head with faux innocence. "Oh?"

"… Don't. And get up before Milla wakes up."

"Oh? Why should she?" Milla asked, sitting beside Ludger with a twitching smile.

Ludger paled and turned to her. "H – How long have you been up, Milla Dear…?"

Milla twitched an eyebrow and pinched his face roughly. "Don't Milla Dear me you cheater!"

"Ow! Miwla lesh go of mah cheek!"

Milla then turned her annoyance towards Mio.

"Threesome?" Ophis questioned as she stood in the doorway, nibbling slowly on a biscuit.

"NO!" Ludger and Milla howled in unison before Maria came rushing into the room holding a camcorder.

"The hell!?" Ludger exclaimed.

Maria, drooling, shouted excitedly, "I came to record Mio-Sama getting involved in a threesome!"

"There is no threesome!" Milla howled, blushing, swinging her fist out angrily, knocking Ludger out of the bed.

"Yeah!" Mio added, her face as red as her hair.

Ludger groaned in frustration.

* * *

Sakura sat around the table with everyone else, blushing heavily. "I – I'm sorry… I had no idea she'd do that when I showed her to your room…"

Ludger sighed as he held ice to his face. "It's okay, Sakura, you don't have to apologize."

Milla sat silent, her face drooping in guilt.

"You always jump to the worst possibility," Maxwell chastised as she chewed blithely on a crisp.

"Sh – Shut up…" Milla stammered.

"You being so violent all the time isn't healthy, Milla," Caster urged.

"Shut up…"

Medea, smiling cryptically, added, "Just giving you helpful advice."

Ludger sat silently as Medea mouthed several words to Milla he couldn't make out.

Milla looked at Medea in shock. "… How…?"

Medea merely smiled and continued to drink her tea.

The blonde sighed in frustration.

Ludger frowned in bewilderment. "Did I miss something?"

"Nothing at all Master," Medea answered cryptically.

"Right… anyway, today's a weekend, so does anyone have any plans?"

Medea put a finger on her chin in curiosity. "Hmm… not that I can think of."

"I want to do some shopping," Milla added.

"Want me to come with?"

"I was intending you to."

"I'll go with you," Lancer piped up.

"That's fine, you don't need to," Milla argued slightly.

* * *

Later, the sun still rising in the sky, Milla and Ludger made their way down the pavement, through the city's shopping district, the blonde holding her head down and fidgeting as they walked.

Ludger frowned slightly in concern. "Milla? Something wrong?"

Milla the stiffened and stammered momentarily. "L – Ludger… there's… there's something I need to tell you…"

"Yes, Milla?"

"I… I… I'm…"

However, Ludger's attention was drawn away from Milla as he noticed particles of light fluttering around him. "What the…?"

Milla sighed after finishing what she said, but then looked up in confusion. "L – Ludger…?" Her eyes widened and she looked around in disbelief. "L – Ludger!?" She paled in horror. "LUDGER!"

* * *

Ludger looked around in disbelief as he fell through an ethereal tunnel of energy, plummeting towards nowhere. "Wh – What the hheellll!? What is going ooonnn?!"

His fall stopped suddenly when he was dumped from a large blue portal to the floor of an unknown location. "Ow… where…?" he muttered as he looked around in confusion. "Okay… where the hell am I…? A forest? Ruined city?"

"Don't move!" a new, gruff voice howled.

Ludger tensed, ready to summon his swords, when he turned and saw a tall man with short, slicked back, grey-brown hair, and similar grey eyes wearing thick, bulky, grey and blue-grey armor with a large shield on one arm. "Huh?"

"Who are you?" the man demanded.

Ludger narrowed his eyes suspiciously. "I could ask you the same."

Before the two could get into it, a new person appeared and interrupted. "Naotsugu, calm down. I think if he were an enemy he would've attacked already."

Ludger turned to the new face, a man with messy blue hair, and dark blue eyes, wearing circular, half-frame glasses, a long-sleeved black shirt, grey gauntlets on his forearms, a brown leather harness over his torso, a brown belt with a large bag on one side, green pants, and matching shoes, with a long white cloak with a wide collar, held closed by a red and silver clip.

Naotsugu sighed and shrugged. "Ah, I guess you're right, Shiroe." He then turned back to Ludger. "Sorry pal, just… a little jumpy."

Ludger sighed and eased his posture. "Yeah. So, um, where are we anyway?"

"Akihabara," Shiroe answered plainly.

Ludger took a moment to wait for the punchline. "… Hah? How? This looks nothing like it!"

Shiroe blinked in surprise. "Wait, you aren't one of the Elder Tale players? Then how do you know about Akihabara?"

"Because I've been there, genius," Ludger deadpanned.

"Really?!" Shiroe and Naotsugu exclaimed.

Shiroe suddenly spat a flood of questions. "How'd you get here? Where'd you come from? When did –?"

"Shut up," Ludger growled. "Seriously. Because I have no idea how I got here. One second I was walking down the street, and the next I'm here. In a ruined version of Akihabara of all places." After a moment of thought, Ludger patted himself down thoroughly before sighing in relief. "Okay, everything seems where it's supposed to be."

Shiroe put a hand on his chin in thought. "Hm… if you can explain the situation on Earth I'll explain what's going on here? Deal?"

Ludger mulled the proposition over before shrugging. "Sure, I guess."

"Right. Then follow me into the city."

* * *

Ludger looked around the city in surprise. ' _It does look like Akihabara. Everything's… shit though._ '

"Something the matter?" Shiroe asked, noticing Ludger's grimace.

"Just wondering what happened here. The buildings are overgrown. The people look miserable. Just doesn't make sense."

"That's actually intentional," he answered.

Ludger blinked in slight surprise. "Oh?"

"Have you heard of the video game Elder Tale?"

Ludger shrugged slightly. "Yeah. Some of my classmates talk about it. Why?"

"Because this is it. When the newest expansion launched, Novasphere Pioneers, many of the players here, and I assume across the world, were transported here. A world that is almost an exact copy of the world Elder Tale takes place on, which was designed to be a post-apocalyptic Earth."

"… Great… this is just great… I'm going to need to be careful now…"

"Well it's generally best to be careful to stay alive, but it sounds like you've got an extra reason."

"Two." Ludger then pulled out his handguns. "I doubt I can find extra ammo lying around, and my body is augmented."

"Well the first issue shouldn't be too hard to deal with, but I don't know what you mean by the second."

"I have mechanical parts in my body after a train wreck."

"That's… new."

"To most people, it is."

"Hm… I'm not sure how exactly we'd deal with either problem, but I'm sure we can find someone who can help. Now one other thing I should tell you is that Elder Tale is pretty expansive. The entire world is a one-half scale copy of Earth."

"I see… So, my goal now is to figure out how I got here and how to get back. Know any mages with teleportation magic?"

Shiroe shook his head. "Many of us do, but it'll only get you a few kilometers."

"Damn, there goes that idea."

The blue-haired man shrugged slightly. "Sorry. I'd be more than happy to help you with your problem. It may even help us with our situation as well."

"Probably. I have another idea but I'm not sure it'd work. Or if you'd all leave as well if it does so that isn't an option."

"Well even if it doesn't work, there may be part of it that's usable, so let's hear it."

"Finding and destroying this world's Divergence Catalyst."

Shiroe narrowed his eyes in thought. "… You're going to need to explain that."

Ludger sighed in frustration. "Ever heard of the multiverse theory?"

"I've read about it online but not extremely thoroughly."

Ludger sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "Right… Well the short answer is that a single instance of something happening can create another dimension. A Divergence Catalyst is the core and reason for its creation. It can be a person, an object, or an animal. If someone with a Chromatus kills or destroys it, that universe ceases to exist while anyone not from that dimension returns to their own."

Shiroe put a hand on his chin in thought as he considered Ludger's words. "Hm… intriguing. Well, while the idea is enticing we have a few obstacles in the way. Number one, while all of us players, or Adventurers as they call us, aren't from this world, that only applies to our minds. We have no way of knowing whether the bodies we're currently in are tied to this universe or our original. Plus, I couldn't justify killing that many countless people just to get home."

"Which is why I said it's not a good idea."

"I can see why. Though I do have some more questions, but I think I'll spare you any more interrogating."

"Thanks."

"I guess I'll give you the rundown on the situation here."

"That would be helpful."

"Right. Well to put it simply, Japan, or Yamato as it's called in the game, er, this world, is divided into five regions. Each region has a central city called a Safe Zone, where Adventurers can rest, store their money, establish and manage guilds, and more."

"I see. What guild are you with?"

"Well, none, actually. Naotsugu, Akatsuki, and myself are a party but aren't in any guild. We work with several of the guilds in the city though."

"Huh."

"There are many guilds within the city though, if you want to try and join. Though I'm not really sure how…"

"Don't think I will."

"Right. Now, to change the subject a little, do _you_ have any questions?"

"Not really, no."

Suddenly, a petite girl with long, straight purple hair tied in a high ponytail, her flatly cut bangs hanging just above her matching purple eyes, wearing a sleeveless purple top with red, armored reinforcement, particularly around her petite bust, long, dark blue arm-warmers, brown pants with a blue sash-belt that hung loosely behind her, and tall, armored, black boots appeared in a burst of smoke with swirls in her eyes. "Good… all that talking was making my head spin…"

Ludger looked at the girl in surprise. "… Who's the cute kunoichi?"

"This is Akatsuki," Shiroe introduced, the girl shaking her head of her confusion, "one of our party members."

"Ah."

Akatsuki then bowed formally to Ludger. "Nice to meet you," she greeted with a slight monotone.

Ludger furrowed his brow in thought as he looked at the girl. ' _She… kinda reminds me of Koneko…_ ' "Right… you too."

"Well who's this cutie?" a new, playful voice asked behind Ludger.

He turned in surprise to meet a tall young woman with long, knee-length, wavy blonde-green hair, bright amber eyes, and long pointed ears wearing a long, green tunic with brown and yellow stripes that was open wide with a small black shirt underneath, exposing a fair amount of her voluptuous cleavage, blue pants, and brown boots. "Wow. Who's the beautiful elf?"

The blonde smiled playfully and greeted, "I'm Marielle!"

However, before Ludger could speak another word, Naotsugu, his face red with frustration and embarrassment, stepped between the two. "Um… what?"

"S – Stay away from Marielle…" Naotsugu demanded, attempting and failing to sound threatening.

"Oookkkaaayyy…?" he muttered as he took note of the person behind Marielle, a woman with wavy, honey-blonde hair tied back in a bun, her bangs hanging down and framing her face, chestnut eyes, and wears a pair of thin, frameless glasses over her eyes, along with a knee-length lavender and purple skirt-suit, and purple high-heeled shoes, looking him over thoroughly.

She smirked slightly.

"Yes?" Ludger asked, feeling rather uncomfortable.

"Just making sure."

"Of what?"

She shook her head in response. "Nothing, ignore it. I'm Henrietta, Marielle's aid and second in command of our guild, the Crescent Moon Alliance."

"Okay…?"

Henrietta then turned her attention to Shiroe. "Shiroe, we were actually looking for you."

"Oh?" the man hummed, intrigued.

"Can you come with us back to our guildhall to discuss it?"

"Sure." He then blinked in thought. "Oh. Is it alright if he comes?" he questioned, pointing to Ludger.

Henrietta glanced at Marielle silently.

The blonde elf shrugged. "I don't see why it wouldn't."

"Good to hear."

* * *

The group made their way to the Crescent Moon Alliance's guildhall, the main room they sat in being a large, open room with a single sofa in the middle and several dressers on the walls.

"Geez…" Ludger groaned.

"There's been a sharp rise in PKs," Henrietta explained bluntly.

Ludger shot a silent glance at Shiroe, whom answered, "PK is an acronym for Player Killer."

"Sounds bad," Ludger muttered.

Shiroe nodded grimly. "It is. Technically, us Adventurers are immortal. If we die we will simply revive, or respawn as we call it, at the city's cathedral. That being said, we can still feel mental and physical pain, so while being killed isn't the end, it's still painful."

Henrietta then added, "We know the group responsible, but unfortunately we haven't managed to stop them."

"Why?" Ludger questioned.

"Their tactics. The group is called the Dread Pack. Individually their members aren't very strong, but they don't have a guildhall and never stay in one location long enough to mount an actual attack on them."

"I see. Then the solution is obvious."

Henrietta twitched an eyebrow slightly in annoyance. "And what might that be that our entire guild of people haven't considered?"

"Use low-level players as bait and have someone with stealth skills follow."

Shiroe put a hand on his chin in consideration. "While that's a sound tactic, there's one problem. I don't know of anyone with a high enough Stealth Skill to evade detection at the close enough ranges to… Akatsuki, why are you glaring at me?" he muttered, the adorable ninja sending a cold glare at him.

"I think it's pretty obvious."

Shiroe laughed weakly. "But none of us are low-level. Wait, do you really think you could take an entire guild on your own…?" He then glanced at Ludger and suddenly got an idea. "… That just might work."

Ludger flattened his brow and deadpanned, "… You want me as part of the trap, don't you?"

Shiroe's glasses reflected light mischievously. "Yes. They'd likely never suspect an NPC of being any danger at all."

Naotsugu interjected, "Hold it, we don't even know what he can do or if he'll help us."

Ludger explained, "I have swords, guns, and a hammer."

Naotsugu gaped slightly. "… What do you do…?"

"I'm a high school student that has a part-time job."

Shiroe frowned in thought. "… How about before that?"

"… Mercenary more or less."

"Interesting. If it's alright with you I'd like to test your abilities before I cement my plans."

"Sure."

"Right. How about you spar against Naotsugu?"

"I can do that."

* * *

Ludger and Naotsugu stood opposite each other in a large open area just outside the walls of the city.

Naotsugu drew his sword and raised his shield with a smirk. "Now don't worry, I'll go easy on ya."

Ludger twitched an annoyed eyebrow. "Is he always like this?"

Akatsuki explained simply, "He puffs himself up to look impressive in front of pretty girls."

"Shut it half-pint!" Naotsugu sputtered.

"Ah," Ludger hummed.

"Don't embarrass me in front of Marielle…" the armored man mumbled.

"You do that enough on your own," Akatsuki chided as Naotsugu grumbled silently, Marielle confused by the whole exchange.

Ludger sighed as a bead of sweat fell down his head. "Yeah. Alvin levels of pathetic."

Shiroe swung his arm down forcefully. "Begin!"

Ludger instantly readied his dual blades and charged at Naotsugu.

Shiroe watched the proceedings carefully. ' _He's definitely fast. But Naotsugu's defense should more than hold up._ '

"Shield Stance!" Naotsugu hollered as Ludger closed in, his shield raising and a barrier of energy forming in front of him.

However, Ludger dodged around to behind Naotsugu.

"Crap!"

Ludger swung his blades, aiming directly for Naotsugu's torso.

However, Naotsugu had other ideas and swung his shield as it lit up brightly. "Shield Strike!" he howled before the glowing shield knocked back Naotsugu's attack.

Ludger used the momentum from the block and swung his leg up, nailing the armored man straight in the head.

"I approve," Akatsuki stated flatly.

"Noted," Shiroe responded, his attention focused on the battle. "But the battle's not over yet."

"Right…"

Naotsugu rubbed his head in discomfort. "Jerk. Demon Fang!" he shouted as he swung his sword at Ludger, sending a blast of energy at the man.

Ludger dodged to the side just barely, his face twisted in shock. "How…?"

Naotsugu smirked confidently. "What's wrong? Like that one?"

Ludger huffed and then swung one of his swords. "Demon Fang!" he shouted before a blade of energy shot out at Naotsugu.

Shiroe sat in shock as Naotsugu barely dodged.

"The hell!?" Naotsugu exclaimed. "Okay, how'd _you_ do that!?"

Ludger charged at Naotsugu, swinging one of his blades, though Naotsugu managed to dodge. "Okay, Shiroe, turns out I do have a few questions for you," he stated as he continued fighting.

Shiroe frowned in surprise. ' _Is he for real? He has the skill, or at least the confidence, to fight Naotsugu and still keep up a conversation with me? Just… who_ is _this guy…?_ '

"Lunar Reflection!" Ludger shouted before spinning like a top, sending Naotsugu sliding back. He then leapt up and his swords flashed with light before he held a large hammer. "Falling Thunder!" he howled as his hammer shot down.

"A hammer now!?" Naotsugu exclaimed in disbelief.

"He's not going to block?" Akatsuki wondered.

"Let's just watch," Shiroe urged.

"Gah!" Naotsugu grunted, barely dodging. "Okay, that's it!" he howled before charging with his sword.

Ludger slammed his hammer against the ground. "Sanctuary!"

Naotsugu's sword impacted a magical barrier, bouncing away from Ludger harmlessly. "The hell?!"

Ludger switched to his swords again. "Cerberus Strike!" he hollered, hitting Naotsugu with a series of three powerful strikes.

Shiroe frowned in thought. ' _How does he switch weapons so quickly?_ '

Akatsuki pouted in disappointment. "If only I had popcorn that has taste…"

"What the hell…?" Naotsugu panted in frustration.

Ludger sighed. "So, we done yet or should I keep beating you?"

"Keep beating him," Akatsuki urged.

Shiroe interjected, "I think we've seen enough."

"Aaww…"

"I think this plan will work fine."

"Good," Ludger noted, stowing his weapons.

* * *

Ludger sighed as he made his way down a wide, deserted road on the edge of the city. ' _So, I just walk down this road until the Dread Pack make their move… I hope they appear soon._ '

At that same moment, a group of people walked out from behind several walls, seemingly surrounding Ludger.

"Well, well, what do we have here?" the apparent leader of the group, a long-haired man with dog ears and spike-covered armor, snickered.

Ludger then looked over the group.

In addition to the leader there was a man with long green hair, a purple, hooded robe, and a long staff, and a large, heavily-built man with thick, samurai like armor.

Lastly there was a tall, dark-skinned woman with long, pointed ears, amber eyes, and long, dark red hair tied back in a ponytail wearing a tight, sleeveless, pink belly shirt that hugged her generous bust tightly, purple arm warmers on her biceps, long, purple, fingerless gloves, a short, rough, pink skirt with several belts looped around it, thigh-high purple stockings, and knee-high, high-heeled black boots.

Ludger hummed in thought as he looked at the group. "Three idiots and a beautiful elf. Easy."

The dark elf's ears twitched slightly at his comment.

"Now, I hear you've been killing people and stealing their things. That I can't let you keep doing."

The hooded man frowned, insulted. "Seriously? You think you can beat us all?"

"Ignore him, Stroganopp," the leader urged.

"Right, Smash," Stroganopp smirked.

Ludger huffed in derision. "There's a difference between think and know."

"Bastard!" the armored man howled before charging.

"Katsuomaru!" Stroganopp shouted before Ludger summoned a pistol and fired at Katsuomaru, hitting him in the head and causing him to drop to the ground, dead.

"Wh – What the…?!" the dark elf shouted.

"Tch, stay back, Rikopin!" Smash urged, raising his clawed hands.

"Next," Ludger urged plainly.

"G – Geyser!" Stroganopp stuttered before a magic circle appeared under Ludger, which he stepped out of before water shot up, Ludger then summoning his swords and charging.

"Damn you!" Smash howled, charging at Ludger.

Ludger ducked to the side of Smash's strike before swinging at his neck, beheading the dog-eared man. "Two down. Who's next?"

Rikopin flinched back before Stroganopp raised his staff. "Lightning!" he howled, a blast of electricity shooting at Ludger.

The white-haired man leapt up above the blast, summoning his hammer and raising it above his head as it glowed bright yellow. "Falling Thunder!"

"Guardian!" Stroganopp called out as a barrier of magic circles appeared around him, Ludger's attack bursting straight through it and hitting him straight on the head, crushing Stroganopp's head.

Rikopin flinched as Ludger stood and turned to her. "C – Crap…"

"Now… You gonna surrender or get killed like these morons?"

Rikopin remained silent for a moment before throwing her weapons down. "I'm not dumb, I want to keep my Stats and items. Just who the hell are you?"

"Ludger Kresnik."

The dark-skinned woman frowned suspiciously. "Kresnik? You've got some nerve naming your character after one of the Ancients. Whatever. I'm not dumb enough to –" she began before shrieking lightly as Akatsuki appeared with two more of her allies, defeated.

"Huh? Hey Akatsuki. Finished already?"

The purple-haired girl nodded before looking towards Rikopin. "Yes. You still have one to kill."

"Really? Where?"

She pointed to the dark elf.

"I don't kill those that surrender, Akatsuki."

"Right…"

"So yes, we are done."

"That was impressive," Shiroe praised as he stepped out from behind a rock nearby.

"Really?"

Rikopin was surprised in silence, Akatsuki commenting, "You took them down in one hit."

Ludger shrugged slightly. "Most things tend to not get back up after their brain is splattered."

"Right…" Shiroe muttered before turning to Rikopin. "Now, we have a few questions for you."

Ludger interjected, "Same to you. Like how the hell your game has those techniques."

Shiroe turned to him in surprised confusion. "Pardon?"

"What meathead used in our spar. Demon Fang is a real Martial Arte. Not fake."

Rikopin simply listened to the two.

"… Eh?" Shiroe hummed in confusion before putting a hand on in his chin in consideration.

Ludger frowned slightly.

Shiroe turned to Akatsuki. "Akatsuki, do you have a World Map?"

"Yes," Akatsuki answered before opening a map.

Ludger leant down and looked over the map before seeing a country on the lower corner labeled "Elympios". Well… crap.

"Recognize something?" Shiroe asked.

Ludger pointed to Elympios. "Yep. Here. This is Elympios, the place I'm originally from."

"Eh?"

"I came from Earth but I got there from this world."

The group all looked at him in shock.

Shiroe asked in disbelief, "You're… one of the Landers?"

Ludger shrugged. "I guess, but this area looks nothing like the city I'm from."

Shiroe pointed to a section on the map labeled "Yamato". "This is where we are."

"Which is a good bit away. Though…"

"Yes?"

"I don't see Rieze Maxia on the map."

"Rieze Maxia? I've never heard of it."

"It's another world that connected to ours, literally, about a year ago or so."

"I see."

Akatsuki then raised her hand and noted, "I've had this map for three months."

Shiroe nodded in understanding before looking back to Ludger. "Which would be three years on this side."

Ludger's face went pale in horror.

Shiroe noticed his expression with worry. "Is something wrong?"

"I am wondering how long I've been gone now…"

"What?"

"It's been a couple months since I ended up on Earth…"

Shiroe thought for a moment before sighing. "I see… then it's likely been at least two years on this side."

"Damn…"

The others merely stared at him.

"What?"

"If you're one of the People of the Land, how are you so strong?" Naotsugu questioned.

"What do you mean?"

"The abilities and strengths of people in this world are indicated by their Level. The maximum Level for players, or Adventurers as they call us, is one hundred. But the maximum for the People of the Land is fifty."

"I call bullshit."

"We've never encountered a Lander who can even attempt to beat an Adventurer."

"Well I know of several people that could match any one of you. Hell, I live with two that are stronger than me. Milla and Maxwell."

Shiroe's jaw dropped slightly. "… You mean the gods are real?"

"Great Spirits."

"Is that what you call them?"

"Undine, Efreet, Sylph, Gnome, Muzet, and Maxwell. They are all Great Spirits, or in your terms, gods."

Shiroe remained silent for a moment. "Hm… I wonder if the rest of the deities in Elder Tale's mythology are those Great Spirits."

Their discussion was halted when Rikopin shrieked in pain as Akatsuki held one of her ears tightly.

"Stop that!"

"Then don't try to run."

Shiroe sighed and turned his attention to Rikopin. "Right. Now, unless you have any more questions, Ludger, I need to get some answers out of our friend here."

Ludger remained silent for a moment. "… Why did she say I named myself after these so-called Ancients?"

Shiroe nodded in understanding. "The Ancients are the NPC or Landers in Elder Tale that are stronger than Adventurers. They, unlike normal Landers, can reach Level One Hundred, and are twice as strong as Adventurers. A Level Fifty Ancient is equivalent to a Level One Hundred Adventurer."

Ludger tilted his head curiously. "What does that have to do with my family name?"

"One of the most well-known and legendary Ancients is the sage Kresnik."

Ludger immediately slammed his head against a wall in frustration.

"That was rather violent," Akatsuki remarked.

Ludger groaned in frustration. "I know who that is referring to…"

"Really?" Shiroe asked, intrigued.

"Yes. Or at least, her legend."

Shiroe blinked in surprise. "Her?"

"Yeah. Ophis cleared that bit up."

"Ophis?"

"Yes. Ophis Ouroboros."

"… Ah."

Ludger flattened his brow with a deadpan. "… Let me guess. You know her?"

"There were a few high-difficulty quests when Elder Tale was still in its infancy that involved the Ouroboros dragon. There were two ways to accomplish the quest, defeat the Ouroboros dragon or help it defeat its adversary."

"Let me guess… You got slaughtered."

Shiroe shook his head in denial before adjusting his glasses. "No, we picked the opposite side to most players, that being to help the Ouroboros. The quest had been active for almost five years and nobody had beaten it, since nobody could do enough damage to Ouroboros. So my guild, Debauchery Tea Party, tried a different tactic."

"Join her."

Shiroe nodded in affirmation. "Precisely. Our guild was the first and only guild to complete the quest, and to date it has not appeared again."

"So… you beat her nemesis?"

Shiroe sighed with a shrug. "I'm not certain if it was her nemesis, and we didn't so much beat it as we did drive it off. To be honest, it was rather hard to fight a dragon that size."

"Ah. Well Ophis is currently living on Earth."

"That's… a very strange thing to think about."

"As long as she has sweets she's happy."

"To think… that terrifying serpentine dragon is like that…"

Ludger sighed and leaned back. "Anyway, that's all my questions for now. So why don't you ask what you want from Rikopin?"

"Ah, right."

The elf gulped in worry.

"I really only have one question for you."

"Yes…?"

"Why?"

"Huh?"

"Why was the Dread Pack performing so many PKs?"

Rikopin frowned slightly. "It seemed the easiest way to get money and levels after we learned we couldn't die permanently and will just revive at the Cathedral. Besides, it's better than what other players have been doing."

Shiroe narrowed his eyes cautiously. "Care to elaborate?"

"Stronger players extorting weaker players and forcing them to do things against their will or killing Landers."

Ludger felt a chill down his spine. "What?"

"Just what I said. There are other players who are using their skills and high levels to extort what they want out of weaker players and are even killing People of the Land for their items and gold."

Ludger's fists tightened.

"Unfortunately, that's not the worst I've heard some people doing."

"Bloody hell…"

Shiroe frowned deeply as he adjusted his glasses with one hand. "It sounds like the idea of morals has been lost to a lot of players. Since, unlike in the real world, or, I suppose, our old world, death isn't permanent, some people think that's justification to do whatever they want since it supposedly isn't permanent."

Ludger frowned in thought. "Hm… I wonder what would happen if I used my Chromatus on one."

"Chromatus? What's that?"

Ludger pulled his watch from his pocket.

"It's… a watch?"

"It's connected to it." Ludger flooded mana into the watch, at which point it lit up brightly, bathing his body in light.

The others gaped when the light died down, showing Ludger now clad in black and silver armor with glowing, golden accents.

"See?"

"That's quite an ability…" Shiroe noted.

"What's it do?" Naotsugu questioned.

"Hit me and find out," Ludger taunted.

The heavily armored man stood with a smirk and drew his sword. "You asked for it," he challenged before swinging.

Ludger held a hand open lazily, blocking Naotsugu's swing with ease. "Now I hit you." Ludger hit Naotsugu with a light punch, sending him flying through several walls.

"… Ow…"

Akatsuki snickered quietly.

Ludger then deactivated his Chromatus, returning to his normal state. "And that's basically it. The more I get used to using it the stronger it gets."

"I see…" Shiroe then sat silently in thought for several moments. "I think there may be another reason that the leader of your guild, Smash, ordered the PKs."

"Huh?" Rikopin wondered.

"It honestly doesn't take much to survive in the game. The amount of money needed for lodging, food, and equipment upkeep is easily obtained by killing the weak monsters around the city, which honestly leaves little in the way of goals or challenges for the players. So Smash likely did it because it was some form of entertainment for him and, like you said, because in his eyes there were no long-term consequences."

Rikopin slumped her shoulders in realization.

Ludger huffed in derision. "That's some messed up entertainment then."

Shiroe nodded in agreement. "I'm simply talking about his perspective on it, not whether I agree with it or not."

"Right…"

Shiroe then turned his attention away from Ludger before putting a hand to his ear. "Hello?"

Ludger blinked in surprise. ' _Telepathic communication?_ '

"I see… we'll be there momentarily."

"Something wrong?"

"Yes. There's an emergency with one of the members of the Crescent Moon Alliance, and Maryelle has asked us to come to their guildhall immediately."

Ludger nodded in understanding. "Lead the way."

Akatsuki raised a hand in confusion before pointing to Rikopin. "What about her?"

Shiroe merely shrugged. "She can do what she wants."

Rikopin frowned in frustration. "… I don't think returning to the Dread Pack is a good idea…"

Ludger noted, "Then quit and join a different guild."

She turned to him flatly. "And what guild would let a known PKer join?"

"No clue."

Rikopin groaned in frustration.

Shiroe added, "Then you can stay with us for the time being until you find one."

"Right…"

* * *

The group made their way back to the Crescent Moon Alliance's guildhall.

"So, what's the issue?" Ludger asked.

Henrietta frowned somberly. "Well…"

Maryelle added lowly, "One of our guild members, Serara, is trapped in the city of Susukino."

"Not good…" Rikopin muttered.

Shiroe narrowed his eyes in thought. "Give us all the details."

"How is she trapped there?" Naotsugu wondered.

Maryelle explained, "The city is controlled by the guild Brigandia."

"That doesn't sound good."

Henrietta nodded soberly. "It isn't. Brigandia is capturing any Landers and weaker players they can. If they don't swear loyalty to Brigandia they get sold into slavery. And if they try to flee the city Brigandia members on the border attack them."

Ludger narrowed his eyes angrily. "… How fast can we get there?"

Henrietta sighed in frustration. "If we departed with a rescue team immediately it would take roughly five days to get there."

Ludger frowned in confusion. "No airship?"

Naotsugu argued, "There aren't airships in Elder Tale."

Ludger folded his arms in thought. "I see. Guess none of you Adventurers have actually been to Elympios then."

"Why?" Shiroe asked.

"We have fleets of them."

"… Ah."

"And there are military ones armed for ground bombardment."

"How come we've never seen 'em!?" Naotsugu shouted desperately.

"We never explored much past our own borders. But if refugees start pouring in from other lands that may change quickly."

Shiroe put a hand on his chin in thought. "In that case, we should probably deal with this quickly."

"Yeah. So… any kind of air travel you have? Wyverns maybe?"

"No, but we have something similar. Gryphons."

"Okay…?"

"But even with that it'll take at least two days to get to Susukino."

"Why?"

"Elder Tale puts a limit on how high Gryphons can fly. And between us and Susukino is a mountain that's higher than that limit, and it would take too long to get around it, meaning we have to go through it."

"… You do realize this isn't a game anymore and that's probably how high they can fly naturally, right?"

"You say that, and yet we still have access to all of our menus, skills, abilities, and other things that should physically be impossible. So at least for us, the game's rules still apply."

"Right… I'll go pack some food for the trip."

"Food!?" they all asked in horror.

"Um… yeah. Why do all sound so terrified?"

Akatsuki paled in terror. "All the food in this world tastes like garbage…"

"… Okay, I call bullshit."

Naotsugu waved his hands through the air for a moment, Ludger uncertain what he was doing, before a simple cheeseburger appeared in his hand, which handed to Ludger.

Ludger took a single bite of the food and felt his stomach drop. "Well that explains that. You're letting magic make the food. Magic has no concept of taste of smell."

Naotsugu twitched an eyebrow. "And what other option is there? None of us have any cooking skills. If we try to cook something it turns into a black clump of burn."

"So there's nothing like a cooking sub-class in your game?"

Shiroe shook his head in response. "That's not the issue. There is, but each player is only allowed to choose one Sub-Class at a time, and most people don't use cooking since it has no combat purpose."

"… Hasn't anyone who _has_ the class tried to actually cook?"

"We don't know anyone with the subclass. Nobody in this room has it."

"Right… I'll go cook something up then."

The others all merely sat silently as he left.

"It'll taste good… right?" Akatsuki worried.

"Maybe…" Shiroe noted.

* * *

Slightly over an hour later, Ludger returned with a trolley full of various foods he'd made, burgers, bread, chicken, and more. "Here. I made a few meals with what I had available."

Akatsuki sniffed the air before she began drooling. "I – I can actually smell it…"

"Go ahead and try some. _Try_."

Akatsuki grabbed a piece of jelly-stuffed bread and took a small bite. She remained silent for a moment before she began grabbing more and more handfuls.

"H – Hey!" he cried out, pulling her away. "I said try!"

Shiroe gaped slightly in shock. "A – Akatsuki! Stop it!"

"Ith'sh sho good!" she exclaimed as she had her cheeks cutely stuffed with food.

Maryelle looked at the concoctions in thought and grabbed a bite of one as well before squealing with delight. "Sssooo gggooooooddd!" she shouted before reaching for more.

Ludger summoned his hammer and slammed it down, sending everyone in the room flying away.

"Owie…"

Ludger sighed in exasperation. "Geez, you need to listen better. Okay?"

The girls pouted in disappointment.

* * *

Ludger, Shiroe, Akatsuki, and Naotsugu readied to leave the city, Maryelle frowning in worry.

"Please… bring Serara back safely," she pleaded.

"We will," Ludger reassured, putting a hand on her shoulder. "So don't worry."

Maryelle smiled appreciatively. "'Kay."

"Now let's get going."

Shiroe nodded before he and Naotsugu pulled out short flutes.

Ludger blinked when he heard howls from above and saw two Gryphons descend from above before landing. "… There's only two."

"Only the two of us have Gryphons," Naotsugu noted.

Ludger twitched an eyebrow in annoyance. "… Akatsuki and I ride one."

Shiroe sighed and retorted, "They'll only respond to its rightful master."

Ludger groaned in frustration before he noticed Naotsugu looking around in bewilderment.

"Hey, is it just me or did the wind pick up?" Naotsugu wondered.

Shiroe frowned in thought as well. "No, you're right."

Akatsuki glanced up and saw an object approaching them. "There's something coming."

Ludger raised an eyebrow before paling subtly. "Wait… fuck."

"What is it?" Shiroe asked before an object suddenly hit the ground with force, sending dust flying in all directions.

Ludger looked ahead and saw a large group of people inside of a large bubble of energy.

The first, in the center, was a tall, slender woman with fair skin, long, wavy blue-green hair that parted at her forehead and draped down slightly past her chin on the front and seemed longer than her legs, pointed ears with blue tips, green-yellow eyes, and slightly above average-sized breasts wearing an extravagant outfit that consisted of a central, sleeveless blouse with a blue collar that had extensions going down to her feet, along with a cape that reached to her feet, blue and green, shin-high high-heeled boots that were attached to a small piece of white clothing covering her shapely bottom and front, and shoulder-length gloves with blue, green, and red rings on them floated down to the area with large, silver-blue, butterfly-like wings.

"M – Muzet…?" he muttered in fear to the central woman before he glanced at the rest. "Wait… you all don't look different at all."

One of the group, a girl with dirty blonde hair tied in ponytails with black ribbons, and light green eyes wearing a peach-colored dress with a blue blazer, a purple creature floating next to her, stepped forward. "Why would we? And more importantly, where've you been for two months?!"

"H – Hang on Elize, I – wait, what'd you say?"

Elize tilted her head in confusion. "Where've you been?"

"After that."

"Two months?"

Ludger swiftly turned to Shiroe. "You said two _years_."

Shiroe frowned in mild confusion. "It should be. The time dilation should still be in effect. Maybe something cancelled it out?"

Ludger flattened his brow. "… I might have a few ideas…"

"Oh? Let's hear it."

"Well… how I got to Earth kinda ripped through the Dimension Gap. It's kinda how I first met Ophis. If you count crashing into her in a group of bodies as that."

"Dimension Gap? That makes sense."

Another of the group raised her hand, a young woman with short, chestnut brown hair balled up under a black cap, bright green eyes, and fair skin wearing a white blouse underneath a yellow blazer, short, dark brown hot pants, thigh-high stockings, and black and pink shoes. "How'd you get here?" She then pointed at Shiroe's group. "Who are they? Where's Milla? And where the hell have you been!?"

Ludger answered abruptly, "Wondering that myself, Leia. Adventurers trapped in our world. Both are okay and trapped in a different dimension. Oh, and was trapped in another dimension, which these guys came from. And it still _really_ confuses me even now… Did you know the Genesis Sage Kresnik was a woman named Milla? Because I sure as hell didn't."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Back up! Adventurers? The heck is that?"

Ludger immediately turned to Shiroe. "Glasses, explain."

Shiroe responded, "Could you explain what a video game is to them first? I don't know how to put it into terminology your people would understand."

"You're assuming they don't exist in Elympios. I'm sure they don't in Rieze Maxia."

"Oh. Right." He then turned back to Ludger's friends. "In our world, your world here, the world we're currently in, only exists within a video game, it's not considered real. About two weeks ago we all got transported from our world to this one. As for what we are, we are visitors to this world, outsiders. Our bodies aren't real, and are immortal. No matter how many times or how viciously we're killed, we will come back to life mere moments later. We are also, in general, much, much stronger than the natives of this planet."

Muzet pointed to Leia and the others. "They defeated the previous Maxwell and then defeated Gaius and me."

Shiroe nodded in understanding. "I did say in general. And Ludger mentioned the People of Land of Elympios and Rieze Maxia being far above the rest."

"People what now?" Leia questioned.

"Oh, sorry. The natives, at least on this continent, call themselves People of the Land."

"Weird. We just call ourselves people."

A young man with disheveled black hair and white lab coat then stepped forward.

"Jude?" Leia asked in concern.

Jude urged, "Now, I want to ask something. You said _both_ Millas are there."

Ludger nodded. "Yeah. Milla and Maxwell are."

Jude nearly collapsed in response. "Sh – She's… alive…"

"Yes, they both are."

Shiroe sighed in confusion. "Um… I feel like I'm missing something."

"Confusing things that normal people from Earth can't possibly know due to the fact they don't know anything about the supernatural world."

"Fair enough."

"Don't we have to be somewhere?" Akatsuki noted flatly, somehow on Ludger's shoulders.

"Oh, right," Ludger muttered before turning to Muzet. "Hey Muzet, think you can take us somewhere?"

Jude interjected, "Wait, shouldn't we, you know, figure out what's going on first?"

"A young girl's life and freedom are at stake, we can't wait."

"Oh. Right."

"Now, there's a city far from here called Susukino. We need to go there, yesterday."

Muzet grinned happily and nodded. "Okay!"

* * *

Moments later, the group appeared in a burst of light within a vast, frigid forest, Jude shivering. "C – C – Cold…"

"Y – Yeah…" Leia muttered.

"I – I can't feel my ecnerything…" the floating blob next to Elize groaned.

"Why is that floating potato talking?" Naotsugu questioned. "Why is it floating? Why is it purple?"

Elize puffed her cheeks defiantly. "Hey! He's not a potato! He's Teepo!"

"… Landers are weird."

Shiroe narrowed his eyes and asserted, "There's movement ahead."

The group all looked ahead and saw a burning, upturned cart.

The cart's inhabitants were surrounded by a group of heavily armored men with large swords, Adventurers.

"No! Please stop!" the driver, an older man, begged before the first Adventurer stabbed him through the chest, killing him.

The second Adventurer picked up the man's wife with a snicker. "She's cute. Hey, how much you think we'll get for her?"

A third Adventurer walked out from behind a tree dragging two young girls behind him. "Found some more!"

One of the group, a tall man with dark skin, red eyes, and long black hair in a black suit, narrowed his eyes in disgust and approached the Adventurers.

"Gaius?" Jude wondered.

"What do you think you're doing?" Gaius demanded angrily.

"Uh-oh, this is bad," Shiroe worried.

The second Adventurer looked at Gaius and then grinned. "Hah? Look at this, another damn Lander. Alright pal, drop your valuables and you get to –" he taunted before Gaius appeared behind him, the man splitting in half before vanishing.

* * *

 **And finish! That brings an end to the sixth chapter of Chromatic Devil. I hope everyone enjoyed the chapter, be sure to leave a review letting me know if you did. If you were confused, unsure, or simply had questions on anything do not forget to mention those and I will do what I can to address your concerns. If you did not enjoy the chapter... sorry? Post a review if you must, but might I suggest you do something you enjoy instead? Anyway, I do not have anything else to say, so for now, until the next chapter, bye-bye!**


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